Love Phase
by LaRosada
Summary: Leah Clearwater has lost everything to her magical world, her humanity, her true love, and any chance at a happy life. When she finally imprints it should be a blessing. Unfortunately, undead and blood thirsty are not the qualities she wanted in a man.
1. Chapter 1 Imprint

**Disclaimer: **All publically recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Imprint**

**Leah's POV**

I was going to run away. Far away, into Canada somewhere, and never come back. I was going to run, like Jacob had so many times before. Only there would be nothing to bring me back. I couldn't take it anymore. If I had to listen to one more disgusting, half man-half wolf thought!

It wasn't that I didn't like the pack. I did. Of course, I did. Seth especially. I mean, being a werewolf was not something I had asked for and my privacy – may it rest in peace – was often dearly missed. But Seth was my _brother._ Flesh and blood…and fur. Before there was a pack, there was us. With the exception of the times he insisted upon thinking of his vampire friends, Seth's thoughts were the easiest to share. Or at least…they had been. Before last week.

*~*

Seth and I had been running, just the two of us. We called it our "fun run" because besides giving us an opportunity to enjoy our inhuman speed, there was no real point to it. We were the only ones of our entire pack that had yet to imprint. Quil and Jacob still phased often, despite the objects of their affection. Quil needed to stay young until Claire caught up. And Jake…well…Jake just liked being a wolf. Also, Renesmee, despite getting older by the minute, wasn't quite ready to bag the big game in town on her own. But Jake always reeked of my least favorite species and Quil was always in a hurry to get back to his precious Claire. So even though not _all_ of our brothers had decided to phase as little as possible and grow old with the loves of their lives, Seth and I usually found ourselves phasing alone.

We had just about come full circle when Seth remembered he'd forgotten to pick up his sheet music from the Cullens' house. Edward was giving him piano lessons. He tried to practice as much as possible at home before going for his next lesson. He and Renesmee were _supposed _to be learning together, and it was too embarrassing for him, and much too entertaining for Jacob, when Nessie had mastered a song that he was still stumbling over after a week. Edward tried to explain her extra capacity for learning and retaining, thanks to his half of her DNA, but Seth wouldn't hear any of it. And so we headed toward the house. We couldn't have been more than a mile from the property when we heard voices.

"Jasper, are you sure this is a good idea?"

_That's Bella. _Seth's voice was a mixture of excitement and curiosity. He started to slow to listen in on the conversation. Reluctantly, I slowed my pace.

"I'm fine," someone grumbled, who I assumed was Jasper.

"You don't look fine."

_Who's that?_

_Alice. _Seth seemed annoyed at having to answer my question, even mentally. He was busy listening. I, on the other hand, was bored.

"Am I going to – " Jasper began.

"No," Alice interjected, "but I don't want you to suffer."

_Suffer? _There were few things I knew of that could cause a vampire's suffering. My favorite involved being ripped limb from limb and set on fire, but that didn't seem to be the issue in this conversation. There was only one other thing I could think of at the moment. _Does she mean thirsty? Is he thirsty?_

_Sounds like it. But _he_ shouldn't be letting himself get that thirsty. That he's suffering…_

_Not just him. None of them should._

_Leah..._

_Alright, alright. Sorry. Why him, though? What makes him different?_

_He isn't as good at keeping control. I don't get why he wouldn't hunt…_

_Should we go over there? _I tried to hide the excitement in my tone, but as usual in this state I could hide nothing. I felt Seth's irritation as if it were my own. _Just in case, _I tried to assure him.

_Just in case, what?_

_He snaps. _I didn't bother trying to filter my response. Seth was annoyed, as always, with my distrust of his friends. Nevertheless, he started toward them with me, proving that on some level he knew I was right. He kept his thoughts to himself as we ran, though I could feel his disapproval. We slowed our run to a stop as we came upon the three of them.

"Really, Jasper," Bella started. "You don't have to prove anything to us."

Alice and Bella were standing on either side of Jasper. Bella's arms were crossed and she was shaking her head at him, a look I'd seen her give Jake when he was being ridiculous. Alice had a hand on Jasper's tense shoulder. And Jasper looked worse than I'd ever seen him before. His eyes were jet black, the circles under them were so dark he might've been recovering from two black eyes, and worst of all he looked so pained and miserable that I almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

"You look like _hell_," Seth said aloud for me. By the time I looked over at him, he was already zipping up the cut off shorts he kept tied to his ankle. I must have missed him phasing back while I was taking in the scene. I could have phased too. It wouldn't have been the first time the Cullens had seen me naked, but I preferred to stay on all fours. That way I didn't have to find a way to greet people – if you could call them people – who I'd rather not speak to. Instead, I sat back on my haunches and shot a warning glance at Jasper, who met my stare with black eyes.

"He won't listen to us. Seth? Maybe you can convince him it's stupid not to hunt?"

"He hasn't eaten in a week," Alice added, but her tone was more concerned than annoyed.

What happened next confused me. I knew that Seth was genuinely worried about Jasper. That's why he had come over here with me, incase his help was needed - actually, our motives for coming over were quite similar, only my idea of "help" involved removing Jasper's kneecaps. He wouldn't be much of a threat without those. So I couldn't understand why he was looking back and forth between Alice and Bella with a smirk on his face.

"Are you guys playing too?" Seth teased.

"Playing!" Bella shrieked.

"Too?" Alice questioned, barely audible as Bella's voice bounced back from the trees.

"Yeah. Is it, like, the vampire equivalent of a staring contest?" Seth barely got the sentence out without laughing.

"Oh, you're a big help." Bella rolled her eyes at Seth while Alice, and even Jasper, chuckled. I briefly wondered, when the loser snapped, if they'd choose to do so in Carlisle's reserve or the nearest hiking ground. But Seth was in his human form so, thankfully, I kept the thought to myself. I had to hand it to Seth, though. At least he had lightened the mood.

"I'm trying to see if I can be more…calm…than I have been in the past. You know, under certain pressures?" Jasper explained. "There are some hikers not too far from here. Hear them?"

Jasper waited for a response. Seth gave him a nod. I snorted.

"I understand, I guess," Seth began, "but you shouldn't strain yourself, man. After all you're newer…" Seth trailed off and suddenly I understood. While Jasper stood rigidly, his mouth a tight line just from the proximity to a human scent, Bella's posture was perfectly relaxed. Although, to be fair, one could note that Bella's hands seemed glued to her hips and she was rolling her eyes every three minutes. But her body language was clearly motivated by annoyance, not bloodlust.

"I don't see anyone eyeing Bella to see if _she'll_ snap."

"But _Bella_," Alice dragged her name out like a child, "hasn't been starving for days."

While Jasper may have been new to the Cullens' vegetarian diet – animal blood only – Bella was new to being a vampire altogether. It should have been much more difficult for her to be around a human, multiple humans in this case, than it actually was. Apparently this was unheard of for a newborn and left Jasper questioning his beliefs about how strong bloodlust really was. I watched Jasper suck in a short and clearly painful breath, then stop breathing altogether. His hands were clenched into fists and he was biting down on the inside of his mouth. I found myself hoping someone would be able to talk him into hunting, and soon. He was making me uncomfortable. Breathe in and breathe out – that's what normal people did. Watching him hold his breath like this was making me want to exhale _for_ him.

"You need blood, Jasper," Bella said, too casually for someone so new to her diet. Any kind of bloodsucker talk was enough to put me on edge, but with Bella I found myself especially annoyed. Everyone else liked to pretend she was still Bella, not that she was much better before as a leech lover. But she was one of _them_ now. And they were bad! Vegetarians or not, we all knew what kind of blood they all _preferred. _Why was I the only one bothered by that? "You can't keep this up forever. You need to eat. Now."

Alice's eyes glazed over for about half a second, but that was all it took before Jasper had gotten a wild look in his eye and started off in the direction of five human heartbeats.

I was on his tail in a second. The closer we got to the hiking ground with the others still too far behind, the more I was forced to think about my options. I had to stop Jasper. But if I overdid it I would be in trouble. The Cullens were allies now, and most of the pack was actually friends with them. Not to mention that everyone was well aware of _my _personal feelings toward them; even if I claimed to be doing my duty as a werewolf they would be more skeptical of me. I would just tackle him and try to keep the fighting to a minimum. Otherwise I'd be getting angry stares from the others, especially Alice, when any of Jasper's limbs needed to be reattached. We were getting closer to the humans, and it was becoming evident that I was on my own. _I can do this, _I thought. _I'll just keep my teeth to myself. _But then it occurred to me that Jasper was probably not going to go down without a fight. He was, after all, the best fighter they had. What if he didn't keep _his _teeth to himself? The thought of his venom ended my hesitation. _Maybe he'll just have to lose an arm, then. _But as soon as I sped up to pounce he came to an abrupt stop, clutching his hands over his nose and mouth. Running too fast to stop or dodge him, I slammed into his back, throwing us both to the ground. Behind us, I heard two lightening fast sprints stop short.

"Uh, Leah?" Jasper's voice came struggling out from beneath me. "Your paw…?" My paw? What about my – oh! My hind paw had been digging into Jasper's crotch. I jumped up quickly and made sure to put a safe distance between myself and any of Jasper's…extremities.

"Thanks," Alice said, gesturing in my direction, "that would have been inconvenient." Even Jasper laughed. I guess the fear of castration was enough to stop the bloodlust momentarily. As I was watching them laugh, I noticed the absence of my brother. I couldn't hear him so I knew he was human. He must not have phased when the action started. But if he hadn't decided to come after us, then where was he?

Finding no canine equivalent to express myself, I phased behind a tree and quickly hopped into my cut off shorts and tank top. I made a mental note to attach a bra of some kind to my feeble attempt at clothing.

"Leah, what's wrong?" Bella asked. I guess she knew I hadn't phased because I was dying to strike up small talk.

"Where's Seth?"

"Oh." She looked around for a moment. After a few seconds she gestured in the direction of the hikers and sure enough, Seth was becoming visible through the brush. It didn't seem strange at first. I figured he'd found a shorter route to the humans. Maybe he'd planned to cut Jasper off before he got too close. The expression on his face is what finally tipped me off, though. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Seth, what's wrong?" I asked him. But he wasn't even looking at me. He was staring at Bella.

"Where's Jake?" he asked, his voice tense.

"Seth, what happened?" Bella asked him. Seth didn't say anything, so she continued. "He's at the house, with Renesmee."

"Okay," he breathed, "I think I'm gonna head over there."

"He'll just tell you yes." Alice was the last one I was expecting to speak. How would she know what Seth needed to ask Jacob?

"Yes, what?" I asked Alice. But she didn't answer, still looking directly at Seth. For a moment I didn't feel quite as left out as I noticed the quizzical look Seth was giving her.

"You always said you couldn't see us," he said. My irritation returned as the topic of their private conversation remained a mystery.

"Oh, I can't. But that girl in the forest? Her, I can see. Or…I could…"

I was running out of patience.

"Seth, what is going on! What happened to you?"

"Yes?" he asked Alice. She grinned at him, then gave a tiny shrug.

He exhaled and smiled slightly, but the minute he looked over at me his face seemed to fall. I knew at that moment something bad had happened. Still, I couldn't have been less prepared for what was coming. I knew that Alice was smiling, but Seth's face was tortured. So it had to be bad news, right? Had something happened to one of our family? To one of the Cullens? Was an enemy here, nearby? Is that what he'd seen? But then, why was Alice _smiling? _In fact, if something bad was coming for _us_, how would Alice even _know?_

Before I had a chance to voice any of these questions, he turned to me. "I had been running ahead, trying to get to the hikers. To cut Jasper off." I'd figured that. "You guys stopped, but I kept going just in case he didn't keep control." That reminded me of the reason we were here. I snuck a glance at Jasper but he looked fine. Maybe the hikers had changed course and the scent had become more bearable. "But then I got too close to them, they started changing course and they were going to see me so I had to phase." That explained why I hadn't heard him. "And I was going to just hide in the bushes until they were far enough away for me to phase back." Okay. "But…" he trailed off. But then what? What? Oh God, what had happened to my brother? "Then I saw her."

"Oh my God, Seth!" Bella's voice broke the silence that I would have preferred remain intact. "Wait, I'm confused, Alice. You saw her future?"

"Not exactly. What I saw was her future disappear. Like yours used to…"

"And not just because he was close by – "

"_Only _hers? Besides, he's back _here_ now. There's no reason for her future to still be blank unless…"

"She's already decided! Seth, oh my God!" Bella's shrieks continued to invade my thoughts as I tried to understand. Seth had met a girl in the woods? Correction, _saw_ a girl in the woods.

"Seth..." I tried to get his attention but my voice wasn't strong enough to outdo the giggling and screeching coming from Bella and Alice. Jasper noticed my attempt, and put a hand on Alice's shoulder. She shook it off and continued cackling. There was a lump in my throat, making it extremely hard to swallow and try again to get my brother's attention. The fact that I even had to _try_ to get his attention was making me feel sick. He was usually so attentive, so in-tune with me. But the way he was standing right now, it was as though he wasn't even here. His body was angled back toward the way he came. He kept glancing back over his shoulder, as if he only meant to come over and talk with us for a short time. As if he was expected back and anxious to leave. But what could be so important that he would be _that _anxious to get back to? What, because he saw a girl?

And suddenly it clicked. _A girl._

I knew that face. I remembered that body language. Jacob hadn't had it. Neither had Quil, nor Paul. Not any of the others. They were able to dive right in and be happy. To embrace the new purpose that life had given them. Sam, on the other hand, had looked just like this.

When he had come to tell me about Emily.

"Shut the _fuck_ up!" The roar that had silenced the giggles was alien. It had been so harsh, so raw that I glanced around after a few moments to see who had screamed. But everyone's shocked expressions were trained on my face. Apparently I'd gotten my voice back.

For a moment everything was still. No one moved and no one spoke. But after a beat, Alice shifted slightly toward Jasper. He lifted his fingers to touch the back of her hand in response. Seth fought to keep his eye on me, but it was obvious that he was dying to get back to his hiker. Bella turned her head ever so slightly over her shoulder and I immediately smelled another vampire coming toward us – Edward.

I was instantly reminded of how alone I was. Just like Sam, Seth loved me and cared about me. He felt bad about imprinting. He didn't want to hurt me. I didn't need to be hearing his thoughts to know all this. But just like Sam, Seth had found his soul mate. And just like Sam, he would leave me.

When Sam left, I still had Seth. I still had my parents. I still had a normal life and a future to look forward to. What did I have now?

I couldn't think of anything.

I phased. I hadn't even noticed myself shaking, I'd been so lost in thought. Otherwise I would have undressed first. Now my last tank and shorts were ruined, and they had barely been more than a wanna-be Jane Halloween costume to begin with. As soon as my paws hit the ground, I took off running. I felt Seth phase and begin following me. At first I thought it wouldn't matter, I knew I could outrun him easily. But I'd forgotten about his thoughts. I couldn't outrun them.

_Leah, stop, _he thought after me. Of course I only pushed harder. Maybe if I got far enough, eventually he'd get tired of chasing me and phase back. Then I wouldn't hear him. _I'm still your brother. You haven't lost me. Leah!_

_Screw him, _I thought. A second later Seth's thoughts stopped.

I knew I should have turned back and talked to him. But I couldn't stop. It wasn't fair! Everyone I _knew_ was paired up. My mother practically lived with Chief Swan. The bloodsuckers had each other. Nessie had Jake. I knew it would happen eventually, but that didn't make it hurt any less. I was finally the only one.

The only member of the pack who hadn't imprinted.

***~***

I could understand Seth's constant obsessing over Olivia. His position was different from Jake's and Quil's. Olivia was actually his _age_. He didn't have to play caretaker and then big brother for _years_ before actually having a partner. No, Seth was already in a full blown relationship. And I was happy for him. Once I got over feeling abandoned, it was easy to be happy about the change in my brother. It's just that at times like this I wished he could be just a little less…well…

Okay, so maybe I wasn't the nicest person in the whole world for feeling this way, and maybe it was because I was still upset about Sam – but did he have to be so damn happy, so _obviously _happy, _all the time_? Like, great. You're in love. Happy for you. Now take it down a notch.

_Seth! _Now that I was honest with myself I felt impatient for him to take my advice. _I do _not_ need to know what a wonderful kisser Olivia is! Do you mind?_

_Sorry. _If a wolf could blush, he would be. He whimpered, hiding his face with his paw. I instantly felt guilty. I could sense the shame in his thoughts as he dutifully recited the Spanish alphabet, a trick he used when he wanted to hide his thoughts from Edward. Still, her face managed to find its way into his head, and my heart lurched each time his guilt registered. Possibly the only thing worse than being miserable all the time was having everyone – including Seth, now – pity me for it. No, I wouldn't have this. And I wouldn't have my little brother be ashamed of his own happiness. If Seth wanted to think about Olivia, why shouldn't he?

Okay, so maybe I _could _think of at least one reason why he shouldn't. We were supposed to be keeping an eye out at the moment – Sam believed our territory had been invaded.

Still, if I was honest with myself, I wasn't frustrated with Seth's lack of focus. I was annoyed because avoiding Seth in wolf form had been the only way to keep away from his thoughts and not have to feel sorry for myself. Now I was stuck, with no options but to reprimand my brother for thinking of his girlfriend. I was always doing that, I realized now. Snapping at people left and right, who hadn't caused the pain I was in. Fine – maybe I would never be happy. But that wasn't Seth's fault.

It wasn't Seth's fault that Sam happened to catch the scent of a vampire – not a Cullen – earlier this week in Forks. It wasn't his fault we had to run patrols. And finally, it wasn't his fault that I didn't have someone of my own to pine over anymore.

Tired of reprimanding my own behavior now, I made a decision that would give me some peace of mind. At least for a while.

_I'm gonna take off_,I told Seth. _You keep watch by our land. I'll take the outer perimeter._

_Leah, you don't need to leave_,he tried. _I can keep my thoughts to myself._

_I'm sure you can, but you shouldn't have to._

_Leah, don't. We can _both _patrol._

But then his thoughts wandered, momentarily, to the hiking ground where he and Olivia had met. The rush of emotions was too much for me, and despite my best attempts to _not_ be bitter, I winced. I knew Seth had noticed. He didn't argue with me again.

With that I took off, heading north, searching the air for anything that seemed too clean or too sweet to be natural. As soon as I was out of sight I felt Seth phase back. Again, I felt guilty. If Seth _did _find trouble on our land now, in his human form, I wouldn't be able to hear his thoughts. I quickly convinced myself that the rest of the pack was in La Push – he would be safe – and focused on finding an unpleasant scent. I was about ten miles from the Cullen's place when I caught just that type of scent. Immediately, I began to run faster. As I got closer, the scent got stronger, and I began to pick up on its specifics. I was sure it was a vampire. The sweet scent was almost sickening, and I couldn't have been within ten minutes of it. But I noticed other things. There was a faint hint of wood and vanilla that stood out among the sweetness. The scent was clean, fresh. But I could smell a hint of salt in it, like the scent of sea air. I wasn't sure of the reason behind a scent that was so detailed. I decided it was probably the diet of the creature I was closing in on. Perhaps the blood of animals lessened the intensity of the Cullens' scents; the scents I was most accustomed to.

I knew I had no proof about the bloodsucker's diet, and that Sam would be upset if I hastily attacked a golden eyed acquaintance of the Cullens. Still, I allowed my imagination to run away with me and noticed the speed of my running increase as I imagined a creature that fed so frequently of human blood that its scent held a trace of humanity. When I knew I had only seconds left before approaching it, I slowed my run to a walk and began to creep silently through the trees. Partially because I didn't want to slam into the thing like I had Jasper. But also because I felt the strangest inclination to see what it looked like.

Okay, so maybe that was odd. Why should I care what it looked like? But I would only be doing what I knew Sam, _and_ Jacob for that matter, would have preferred. Making sure that the vampire actually was a threat before attacking it. _Sam and Jacob would want me to come back, _my annoying thoughts reminded me. We were a pack – we fought as a pack. And by now I had run out so far that I wasn't even on our territory anymore. It would take the others too long to reach me if something bad happened. Which they wouldn't even know unless any of them phased in time to figure that out. Which none of them had. But I couldn't stop myself.I felt that this pursuit had less to do with duty and more to do with some strange curiosity I'd developed several miles back. Probably something to do with the complexity of the scent - I was fascinated. And I wanted it all to myself.

There was a small clearing up ahead. I could hear the sloshing of water, I guessed from a lake of some kind. I assumed that this is where the scent would end; where I would find its owner. I had to fight the overwhelming urge I had to _not_ proceed with caution and just get to the thing as quickly as I could. I knew that stealth was key here. And if I moved too fast I'd get noisy. I couldn't afford to give the parasite any warning by unintentionally brushing my fur against the trunk of a tree or forgetting my footing and noticeably cracking a stray twig.

Finally, I reached the edge of the clearing. I was sure the bloodsucker would not see me from this vantage point, but I would have a clear view of it. I hunkered down behind a thick bush until I found a place where the leaves sort of jumbled, leaving a hole where I could peek right through. I peered through the branches, feeling proud of the view from my hiding spot, but once I really _saw _the vampire, I forgot to congratulate myself about anything else. He had my full attention.

The first thing I noticed was that he was incredibly tall. Six foot five, if not a little bit taller. His skin was pale, but seemed to have a slight olive tint to it. I noticed its sparkle being thrown into the clearing as the sunlight danced off of his bare back and broad shoulders. He kept his back to me, so I couldn't have sworn by it, but knowing his kind and from what I was _seeing_, it was safe to say – he was ripped. His hair was short and untidy. In fact, if it weren't for its chocolate brown color I could have easily mistaken him for Edward. But he wasn't Edward. Edward didn't smell this good. Wait. Not good. No, of course not. This was a vampire…he smelled…not _good_. But not quite as bad as the Cullens, I had to admit. His scent was more, er, favorable. I would allow that. I continued to stare as I tried to make sense of the scene in front of me. His clothes were scattered at the edge of the lake, so I could only assume he was naked. I wasn't sure why but this knowledge made me anxious. I found myself hoping, desperately hoping, that this parasite _was_ a friend of the Cullens. If he wasn't…well…how would I approach him? Would I allow him to get dressed before attacking him? If I gave him a warning growl, would he _choose_ to get himself clothed before running away or staying and fighting? And if not…why did that bother me so much? I'd seen naked men before. That was a key part of my excruciating existence as a werewolf. Seeing almost every close, male family member I had – stark naked, with unfortunate regularity. But why didn't that seem even half as embarrassing as trying to fight _this_ male while he was…uncovered. _Hopefully I won't have to fight him._ Another alarming thought. I'd been wanting a chance to throw down with the mysterious leech ever since Sam reported the scent. Why would I suddenly not want to fight him? What, because he was swimming around in a lake instead of terrorizing people? And what was he even _doing_ in the lake, anyway? I watched him as he dived under and came back up again, splashed around, floated on his back. Was he…was he playing? I decided I found the idea endearing. If I allowed myself – cute. I decided that I would ignore why I would ever use the word cute to describe a vampire. There were more important things to think about right now.

Surely he was a friend of the Cullens. I knew that the Cullens tended to act more human due to their diet. Their control. So that must explain this behavior. After a few minutes, the bloodsucker stood up in the water again, and began stepping out of the lake.

I thought about moving deeper into the woods again, or closing my eyes to give him…well…privacy. But I didn't look away, not even for a moment, as he dressed. For a moment I even tried to convince myself that I was preparing to fight him, trying to get a sense of the way he moved. When I felt myself shudder internally at the sight of the water dripping down his bare chest and onto the planes of his perfectly sculpted stomach I stopped trying to make excuses. Especially those that would include, in any way, harming his beautiful body. He began shaking himself like a dog, flinging the water in all directions into the trees. He laughed. I felt sad, suddenly. When was the last time I had engaged in something so fun and carefree? I wanted to laugh. _With him, _I realized. I wanted to laugh with him.

Maybe I had just been alone for so long that the idea of laughing with anyone felt like a relief to me. Why else would I be entertaining the thought of _hanging out _with a vampire? I forced myself to try and focus on anything that could help me in a fight with him – just in case it turned out to be necessary – and ignore how much fun it looked like he was having.

Of course, that lasted for about five seconds before I was distracted by yet another characteristic of the vampire – his apparel. Fully clothed now, I decided he was too well dressed for the average nomad. He _had_ to have some type of permanent residence nearby. His jeans were dark blue and crisp, the crease was perfectly creased and they seemed to fade into a bit of a lighter blue toward the middle. He wore a white t-shirt with a solid red button down over it. I noticed the shoe he hadn't gotten on yet lying on its side – it was a brown, polished dress shoe. With his back to me and most of his skin covered, he could almost pass for human. Perhaps that was why I allowed myself to briefly observe the perfect shape of his backside as he bent over to finally put on his other shoe. _Perfect shape of his backside? _I went over the words in my head. His backside? Oh no. I was _not_ actually _checking out_ a _vampire! _Was I? I shook my head, answering myself.

The minute I'd done it, I realized my mistake but it was already too late. The vampire had frozen.

_Shit! _He must have caught my scent. I decided I could stay hidden in the bushes and risk a potential fight with an ally, or I could show myself and show him that I meant no harm before he turned around. I considered phasing but I wasn't sure how he'd react yet. I knew that vampires had very strong survival instincts. If it was already too late to prevent a fight, I didn't want to find out in my human form.

Slowly, I rose from my position behind the bushes and stepped into the clearing. The vampire didn't turn toward me slowly. I don't know why this surprised me. I had probably been spending too much time watching him in the lake, pretending he was human. One minute, his back was turned to me and he was impossibly still. The next, he had whirled around and shot forward in my direction, teeth bared.

For whatever reason, perhaps from the shock of his reaction, I was rendered completely, if momentarily, still. All it had taken was a second of distraction, a moment of unpreparedness, and I had made a fatal error. There wasn't enough time to get myself out of the way, without coming into contact, even minor contact, with his teeth. The poison that his venom was to me would penetrate my skin. Maybe only a drop of venom would get inside. But that was all it would take. I was going to die. I cursed myself for being so stupid. Why did I sneak up on him this way? But before I could answer myself, he stopped.

I was grateful then. I didn't recognize him from our fight with the Volturi, but I was sure now that the Cullens had told him all about us werewolves. I'd probably just startled him before. He hadn't continued to attack. He hadn't hurt me. I planned to give him some kind of sign, some gesture, to stay where he was. Then I would dip back behind the bushes, phase, and ask him to follow me and briefly introduce himself to the rest of the pack. Allow them to identify his scent so we wouldn't end up on tiresome patrols every time he decided to come passing through town. But when I looked up at his face, I forgot all about phasing. In fact, I forgot all about everything.

He was beautiful. He was absolutely beautiful. I couldn't quite decipher his expression. He seemed both fascinated and confused. I noticed the pucker that formed between his eyebrows as he watched me. I watched the creases on his forehead, his full lips as they twisted and pursed. I noted to myself that they were a very nice pair of lips. I knew this thought should have upset me but I couldn't really bring myself to mind that it was a pair of vampire lips that I was admiring. I knew that I should hate him as I processed what was happening, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Already I was imagining things, considering things that I _never_ would have before, with ease. I could picture myself now, in my human form of course, with my arms draped around him. I could see us doing things together. Going out for dinner (of course he would be along for the ride), curled up on the couch watching scary movies. I imagined us sitting together at the bonfires at La Push, the way the other couples did. How would his skin look in that light? I thought of tasting his full lips, clutching his perfect backside. Oh no, what were we going to do about the _venom_? It didn't matter, I decided. I'd gone without a lot of things for the past several years, I could keep on going without love bites. It didn't matter if he didn't even feel comfortable kissing me…whatever type of closeness we could have…I would take it. _At least I would finally have someone, too. _The hasty thought escaped without my permission. I slowly lost sight of the forest around us, half focused on the vampire that stood before me while the other half of my brain got lost watching him in my thoughts. I wondered if he'd mind my scent, if he'd have to turn away when his elegant nose got too close to my skin. I wondered if he'd even let me get close enough…to do the things I was thinking…that I _wanted _to do…tracing a finger along his perfectly squared off jaw. Along his cheekbone. _It doesn't matter, _I told myself again. All the physical things we might not be able to do, not ever – none of that mattered. I would have someone to talk to again. Someone to tell my secrets to. Who would know me because he _wanted _to. Not because he was unfortunate enough to frequently share my thoughts. He probably wouldn't even consider himself unfortunate if he could hear my thoughts. He might envy my brothers for their ability to know my mind that way. But he would know me well, too. We would take longs walks together, have picnics. Maybe even…hunt together? Like Jacob and Nessie. Yes, I'd make it work. I had to. He was my life now. I decided I would have to inform him of this at some point – this vampire might know about the existence of werewolves but I doubted he knew about imprinting. I hadn't even been aware myself that imprinting could include _this_…oddly enough, I didn't mind_ – _meaning that I'd have to phase. But the images in my head…of us, our relationship, oh, they were just too good. I could see myself, tasting his sweet lips, working my tongue against his. I imagined pulling back from the kiss and gazing into his…

All at once my thoughts stopped in midair, as though they'd flown into an invisible wall and shattered. I heard a growl leak out of my lips as I staggered several steps back, nearly tripping over the large bush behind me. An angry snarl ripped from his throat in response to my threat. I saw him stagger back too. He seemed to be upset with the distance between us, something about the set of his mouth looked impatient now. As though he was waiting for the distance between us to close so he could relax again. I could tell by his expression that he didn't know why he felt this way. But I did. Oh, I knew only too well. He had no choice, he already felt it too. He leaned forward, meaning to take a step toward me, but I growled even louder this time and before I knew it he had materialized on the other side of the clearing with a good ten feet between us. He stared at me then. Half confused, half furious. But not as furious as I was, as I stared back into his beautiful, blazing, blood red eyes.

Of all the mean spirited practical jokes the universe had played on me, this was the cruelest one yet. I bared my teeth at him and made the most threatening sound I could muster, then proceeded toward him as slowly and deliberately as I could. It took more effort than it should have. I felt myself shaking, I was so angry. In my human form, this is when I knew I was in danger of phasing. What did it mean in my wolf form? I needed to calm down before I got stuck like this forever. That would make eating a big pain. Or maybe I'd just stop eating all together, and starve and die and then I wouldn't have to deal with _him._

Was he just going to stand there and stare at me? I watched him take several deep breaths, watched the breath travel down his hard chest, over the planes of his perfectly defined…no! _He's a killer. Leah, get a hold of yourself. _Was this really happening to me? Had I really just imprinted on…fallen in love with a…ugh! Fuck him!

The sound of my snarling bounced back at me from the trees surrounding the clearing. I was grateful for his survival instinct now, as he looked me over, assessed the danger and disappeared. The leaves around me rustled for only a second after he'd fled. I held my breath so I wouldn't catch his scent in the air. So I couldn't have an idea of how fast he was, how far he'd gone or what direction he'd taken off into. Instead I turned and ran for La Push, not daring to breathe for the next ten seconds. I needed to find my brothers. I knew we had vowed against it, but I wondered if I could persuade one of them, maybe Paul, to go after the vampire and kill him. A piercing sound echoed all throughout the forest and it took me a moment to realize it was me. Whimpering and crying. Distantly, I heard several brothers phase, and start running toward me. I couldn't make out their thoughts as they took in mine, but I already knew that the answer to my question would be no. They wouldn't kill him. I wouldn't be able to bear it. But in the meantime, he – my vampire – would be killing. Killing _people_. And as much as I didn't want to see him hurt, I knew couldn't bear that either.


	2. Chapter 2 Loveaholics Anonymous

**Disclaimer: **All publically recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Lovaholics Anonymous**

**Vampire POV**

I hurried through the trees. I knew the wolf would be following me, ready to rip me apart if I slowed down even a little. I didn't understand it. I'd heard werewolf stories before, I knew they existed. But it was broad daylight. The sun was shining. And besides that, the full moon wasn't for two weeks. And too, that thing snarling behind me had too much comprehension in its gaze to be a wild animal. The way it had stared. It seemed to be thinking, considering. Or…on second thought, maybe the only thing it had been considering was whether I needed a dash of salt before it devoured me.

I began to slow down as I realized I couldn't smell the werewolf anymore. I expected to feel relieved. I knew I had only narrowly escaped being eaten. Instead, I felt a stab of disappointment. Not about not being eaten. I didn't _want_ to be eaten. It was just…

The wolf hadn't followed me? I was so sure it would follow…

But it hadn't. I was safe. Why wasn't that knowledge comforting me the way it should? There was still an aching in my chest, a feeling of something yanking and pulling at my center. I assumed it had been the fear, the anxiety. But it wasn't letting up even the slightest bit, even though, as I listened hard and took several deep breaths, it was confirmed. The wolf was long gone.

_Stab. _My head snapped up. Something was definitely…happening…to me. There seemed to be something wrong with my chest. There was an overwhelming, constricting feeling there. Three hundred years ago it might have meant that I had stopped breathing. But my lungs were long dead, not caring if I breathed or not. Not only that, but I couldn't seem to stop staring into the trees. Hoping, despite _knowing_ better, that the wolf would reappear. And that's when I realized it…

This werewolf must have some extra ability, the way we vampires sometimes did. Maybe it had an ability to lure me to it, so that it wouldn't have to chase me down. It seemed to be an absolutely ridiculous idea, but once I began to give it thought it seemed extremely probable. I could _feel_ the pull in the direction of the clearing. And I was seriously, _seriously_, considering turning right around and going back. Although, in a way, going back made sense. It wasn't as though I could just go about my business if the wolf was truly hunting me. _Or is that just a rationalization? _No, of course not. Wait…was it?

I squeezed my eyes shut and clamped down on my head with my fists. Why was I making myself crazy over an animal? Okay, so werewolves were said to be quite strong…_and_ quite fast…but so what? How many animals had I killed? How many other vampires had I proven to be too quick and too strong for? So what if the werewolf was a hunter? It may even have some special ability which improves its ability to hunt. Nevertheless, I wasn't about to run from a creature, never knowing if I was safe to relax, when I could just as easily turn back around and end this.

Yes, this is what needed to be done. This was a logical choice, regardless of the strength of the pull that already had me running through the trees back to the clearing, toward the animal. I would not allow myself to be hunted. _I _was the hunter. And the wolf, with all its talent, would soon discover what it was like to be nothing but the prey of another.

Oddly, the thought of ending the wolf's life was accompanied by yet another stab. _No matter_, I thought. It was part of the wolf's power. Like the werewolf, it would not last much longer.

*~*

**Leah's POV**

By the time I arrived in La Push, Seth, Jacob, Paul and Sam had already heard everything. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't help but allow my first sighting of my vampire to play over and over in my head. Every time I caught myself forgetting about the potential danger and instead focusing on the sight of my beautiful, naked vampire, sloshing about in the lake, I felt both humiliated and ashamed. They were all listening. All…seeing. All completely aware of my involuntary love for our enemy.

When I reached the beach I phased behind a rock, got dressed (in some of Jake's clothes) and sat on the sand. I allowed the water to gently wash over my feet as my brothers phased behind me and came to join me on some rocks.

A quick glance over my shoulder revealed Sam heading away from us. He was probably headed back to his house, to Emily. In the past this might have made me feel upset. Sam tended to steer clear of me, especially when I was emotional. _Because he's an asshole, _I thought, more out of habit than anything. But almost as quickly as I thought it I realized how difficult it must have been to be around me. Even when he couldn't have heard my thoughts, I'm sure they hadn't been hard to guess. And I knew from his thoughts that his guilt over what he'd done to me was almost as bad as what he felt for Emily's scar. _Not that his guilt did much for me._

So maybe my thoughts were a bit bitter sometimes. But in my defense, somewhere along the line Sam's guilt transformed into feeling sorry for me, and that more than anything else is what pissed me off. He hadn't known it at the time, but as of recent events it was now obvious that what happened to me could have happened to him. Our situation could have been completely reversed, if only I had been the one to phase first.

He had no right to pity me.

_He probably still does. _It was ironic – people had been waiting for me to find someone else and get over the "Sam thing" ever since it happened. Then finally, just when the existence of bloodsuckers and the magic that caused me to lose everything (including my hair) could have finally helped me out, now that I had finally imprinted, I couldn't feel any sort of relief.

Or did I? Maybe the more appropriate thing to say was that I _shouldn't _feel any sort of relief. I wasn't supposed to feel happy about this. It wasn't exactly good news. Still, I noticed that I didfeel slightly relieved. Even though I knew that imprinting on my vampire hadn't been a good thing, all the concerns and bitter emotions I seemed to be lugging around with me for years were beginning to lift, just slightly. I seemed to have a new perspective of my past, perhaps because I was already detached from it. It was safe to say that, like the rest of the pack, the object of my affection was definitely consuming my thoughts. And it had only been twenty minutes since I first laid eyes on him.

When it was clear that I couldn't ignore it even if I tried, I finally allowed myself to dwell on my vampire while simultaneously resenting my fate. This could have actually been a good thing for me. Imprinting. If, of course, I wasn't Leah, and things weren't obligated to go completely and totally wrong for me when they went right for everyone else. _Why couldn't he have been a human?_

"Leah?" Jake was cautious as he hopped down from the rock to come sit beside me. I could think of things to say that would make him feel welcome, but I didn't feel like talking. Instead I looked up to meet his eyes, and angled my body toward him. We'd gotten good at expressing ourselves through body language over the years. After all, not _everyone_ could hear our thoughts when we were wolves. Jacob took the invitation and sat to my left. At first I thought he would just leave it at that, but then he reached over and pulled me into his chest.

I hit him. He knew I hated pity, and I couldn't believe he would do something that he knew I would interpret as that at a time like this. I tried to push him away but he fought back until I was snuggled tightly, if uncomfortably, in his arms. I tensed up at first, resisting his hold, but when I finally relaxed I felt relieved to be in the presence of my brothers. With my head buried in Jacob's shoulder somewhere, I began to cry. (If you could call it crying; my whimpers sounded more like strangled growls.) After a few moments, Seth and Paul came down from the rock and knelt down beside us as Jake rocked me like a baby.

"Jacob!" I recognized Rachel's voice, and footsteps getting closer to the water. "Paul? What's going on…" Her voice trailed off as she got closer. I heard Paul get up and go to her. "Is she crying?" She tried to speak under her breath. I don't know why she bothered anymore, she knew I'd have heard her if she'd spoken at that volume from the house. Still, to be polite, I humored her. I pretended I didn't hear their hushed conversation.

"No, no, nothing happened. Well, not nothing. But she's not hurt. Or…injured. Or…" I listened without reacting as Paul struggled to explain, since in a very real way I was both hurt _and _injured. "She imprinted."

"Oh, wonderful!" Rachel rejoiced in an excited whisper. "But why is she _crying_, love? Don't tell me those are tears of _joy_."

"She imprinted on a vampire." Rachel was quiet for a moment.

"Oh…" she hesitated, apparently not finding a problem with my vampire. "Okay…like Jake. They'll be just fine…what, is it the smell?"

"No, he's not like the Cullens." No, he wasn't. Rachel must not have understood his meaning because it was quiet again. Then, "He feeds on humans." I heard a gasp, then silence that was laced with understanding this time.

But I couldn't concentrate on their conversation anymore as I considered what Rachel had said. Maybe wishing that my vampire was a human was going unnecessarily far. He didn't even need to be human, necessarily, just not _that _kind of a vampire. Otherwise everything _would_ be fine – look at Jacob and Renesmee. Sure, Nessie was half human, but in the food department that didn't really mean much. Carlisle tried from time to time to convince Edward and Bella to try some human food with her. And Edward was a wonderful cook. They all were. But that didn't matter to Renesmee. She would wince at the idea, then either show the nearest person to her a vision of them hunting or grab Jacob and run out toward the woods. Renesmee preferred blood. She even struggled with her thirst for human blood the way the rest of the Cullens did.

But at the end of the day, when she got hungry, nobody ended up on the news.

"I see. Sweetheart, I'm going to go inside and start dinner. I'll let you all be for awhile."

"Okay, I'll be home in time." I heard a soft puckering sound and then Rachel's light footsteps disappeared back toward the house.

"Leah?" I looked up to see Seth upright now, pacing back and forth along the shore.

"What is it?" I managed.

"Well…I know you may not want to talk about it – "

"I don't," I cut him off, my voice caught between a snarl and a sob.

"But you have to figure out what you're going to…you know…what you're going to do about all this."

"Do?" I couldn't believe this. What, should I be making wedding arrangements? "I'm going to do _nothing_!"

"Leah," Paul started, "you _can't_ do nothing. This isn't something you can just ignore."

"Even if I _wanted_ to do something about it," I shrieked, "I scared him off! I don't know where to find him, I don't even know his _name_. How would I – "

"He'll be back." I looked up. Not so much because of the statement, nor because the sound of it had caused my stomach to do a slow flip. It was that Jacob, Seth and Paul had spoken the words in perfect unison, all with absolute certainty.

"No! Guys, I was a wolf," I said, answering them all. "He saw a wolf! A dog, an animal," I clarified. "Not a girl."

"Oh, he'll be _confused_," Seth teased, and despite myself, I laughed. Jacob began to writhe beneath me, snorting as he fought guffaws. "But he'll be back." I allowed myself to laugh with them for a moment. But if what they were saying was true…

"So when he comes back for me, back into Forks, what then? He'll need to eat. And we can't let him…" My voice broke on that last word and my sentence got strangled off. I had to take deep breaths to keep from crying all over again. Seth had a point. What _was_ I going to do?

"Maybe it would be a good idea if we speak to the Cullens," Seth suggested.

"I don't feel like moving," I whined.

"Well, I figured that," a new voice answered softly. The texture was smooth, velvet. It sounded like…wind chimes? Oh, no. "So I came to you. The others are just a little ways behind me. They'll follow with your permission."

"Edward!" I exclaimed, glaring over my shoulder. "Just because we're...more or less…friends now, doesn't mean you can just come sauntering onto our land whenever you see fit."

"Well…" His eyes darted to Seth, then back to me. "Seth _called_ me," he calmly explained. I didn't bother to point out that I hadn't seen him get on the phone. I knew what "called" meant. "He said it was an emergency. To bring my family." Edward lowered his chin a little. "I didn't saunter," he whispered, his tone a little pouty.

I shot a glare at Seth, who was now pretending he didn't know where to meet my eye. I looked at Jacob for reassurance.

"It's an emergency. We all agreed. Sam too, when you phased. Besides…"

"You want to see Renesmee?" I teased. Jake blushed.

"That too. But I was going to say…" Jake looked from me to Edward, then shot me a wicked grin. "At least here on the beach we'll be out in the open air, with the cool, fresh breeze from the water to distract from the – " Edward's eyes had already begun growing wide at the start of the sentence. From his expression I knew he had picked the last word out of Jacob's head – smell.

"Oh, _really_ Jacob!" Edward's voice seemed to go up an octave. "Do I complain when our living room smells like a kennel?!" He growled the last word, lunging forward at Jacob. Before I knew it they were splashing each other with water, both trying to throw the other one to the ground.

"Edward?" Bella's voice rang out toward the beach. "Oh, for God's sake. Edward!" Bella was over to us in an instant with Renesmee on her tail, watching them play. They both giggled as they rolled around, wrestling in the water and sand.

Jacob tried to overpower Edward with his size, and despite getting dangerously close, Edward always seemed to barely escape Jake's wrestling moves. I assumed Edward was hearing his moves before he made them.

"Mommy!" Nessie said, tugging on Bella's side. "Look at Daddy. Look, he's getting all dirty." Bella smiled and shook her head.

"That's what happens when you marry a teenager."

I heard a tearing sound, and looked up to see Edward staring wide eyed at Jacob, who was sitting back on his heels with his palms out.

"Accident," Jacob stressed. "Edward? Accident."

Edward growled, peering down onto his shoulder at the small bite mark Jacob had left. The rumbling in his chest caused Seth and Paul to exchange glances. I worried for a moment that a real fight was about to break out. My eyes rolled without my permission. _I don't need this right now. _But then Edward let out a hiss through clenched teeth that formed a smile, and Jacob began to giggle hysterically.

"Now what if _I_ were to have that same accident, mutt?" Edward began making little sand balls and throwing them at Jacob. Finally, tired of not being able to reply for the sand in his mouth, Jacob threw himself at Edward, knocking them both over, and the wrestling proceeded. "Argh!" Edward joked, flashing his teeth in an exaggerated smile.

"Edward, you watch those teeth," Bella cautioned, again sounding more like mother than wife.

"And to think," I raised my chin to Bella. "There was a time when these two would have ripped each other's throats out if you'd let them."

"Exactly." Bella smiled down at me. But before I had a chance to question her… "Anything is possible."

*~*

**Vampire POV**

The trail of the wolf did not lead further into the woods as I had expected. This confused me. With every minute I came closer to town. Where houses, public buildings and people dwelled – the wolf was _here?_ It didn't make any sense. I reasoned that perhaps my encounter had caused the animal to become anxious and stray toward civilization. But in that case…

No, that could not have been the case. I slowed to a human pace as I made my way down an ordinary street where several humans passed me as they calmly went about their days. If an animal that uncommonly large had wandered into town, someone would have noticed by now. There would be panic. Instead, the town was overwhelmingly calm.

I sniffed. I realized then that the scent that had lead me into town was not that of the wolf I had encountered. It was similar. _Extremely _similar, yet not at all the same now that I noticed the changes. _Sniff. _This scent was so repulsive that I was astounded to find that each of my three hundred year old nose hairs had managed to survive the encounter. It smelled of musk, of dampness. _Wet dog_, I realized, only exponentially worse.

The smell grew stronger as I continued down the street. A part of me wanted to turn around and go back to the clearing. There was no point in pursuing this trail any further now that I knew it wasn't my wolf. A larger part, however, wanted to understand why this much more terrible scent had been able to trick me into believing it _was_ my wolf's.

When I had reached the end of the trail I was standing at the front door of a baby's clothing shop. There were three humans inside. A sales clerk, who was putting some pink booties in a bag while laughing with her customer. She was petite, with dark caramel skin and long black hair. I realized now, that I was looking for a bigger wolf than the one I saw in the clearing, assuming that the worse scent was related to size somehow. The sales clerk was obviously not who I was looking for.

Her customer, however, made me stop and stare a little longer. He was holding a baby that I guessed was about two and a half or three. The toddler had the same caramel skin as the sales clerk, while the customer's skin was a darker cinnamon. His hair was jet black and cropped short – almost a buzz cut. It was his size, however, that fascinated me. He was as tall as me, and even more muscular. Rarely was I bested in size and I could count the exceptions on one hand. None of those exceptions were human. Was he?

I stepped away from the door when it appeared that he would be exiting with the child. As soon as the door swung open the scent – definitely _his _scent – burned against my nose. I had to fight the instinct to screw up my face in response. He turned his back on me, heading away from the direction which he had apparently come. I saw his shoulders rise as he took a deep breath in. He stopped in his tracks.

The baby in his arms was staring at me. Her eyes and smile were wide as she jabbed her finger in my direction several times, giggling. To her, I suppose, I was an oddity. She was telling her caretaker that she had noticed.

But when he slowly turned his head to glare over his shoulder I suddenly felt that he must know much more than that I merely looked a bit different than other humans. His comprehension was staggering. Yet, he did not look afraid. Instinctively, I knew that if that baby was not in his arms I would be receiving much more than an angry stare from him.

The child struggled in his arms a bit, pushing herself up over his shoulder and reaching out to me. "Eh ward?" she whispered.

"No." Her caretaker's voice was deep and full of authority. He met my eyes again, and this time I realized that he was appraising me. Once he seemed satisfied that I was not an immediate threat, he held the child closer to his wide chest and started quickly away from me.

The child was upset now. She no longer looked at me. Instead, her eyes were locked on her caretaker, as though she could sense his urgency and was trying to understand.

"Wait!" she squeaked, in a small, high pitched voice. "Eh ward!"

"No, Claire." The voice of her caretaker was more gentle now. "That's not Edward."

"No Eh ward?"

"No."

"Why?"

Just then a howl sounded, seeming to come from the woods ahead of us. I watched then, as the subject of my fascination ran off into those very woods, the baby held securely in his arms, at a speed that would have been impossible for any human.

The child did not look at all surprised.

*~*

**Leah's POV**

I didn't understand what Seth's intentions had been in inviting the Cullens – who were now sitting with the pack in a circle and proving that Jacob's smell joke was really more accurate than funny – down to La Push. Besides being vampires, they had no connection to my vampire whatsoever. What were they going to _do,_ exactly? Hold him down and force feed him animal blood until he acquired a taste for it?

"Well no, of course not," Edward shocked me for a moment by answering my thoughts. "Not without your permission." Despite myself, I laughed a little as I imagined Edward, Emmett, Jasper and Carlisle holding each of my vampires limbs while little Alice held open his mouth…

"What? What did I miss?" Emmett seemed insulted by my secret exchange with Edward.

"She doesn't see how we can help besides holding the vampire down and force feeding him," Edward explained calmly.

"Cool! Leah, was he big?" Emmett's enthusiasm made it easy to laugh even though the topic still troubled me.

"He was six five at least," I responded, trying not to sound _too_ eager to supply the information.

"Sounds like a good time to me," Jasper muttered evenly. Emmett's face glowed as they met each other's eyes, then slapped high fives.

"Oh, stop that," Rosalie whined as she gently pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "You're not going to _fight_ him." Her voice turned up at the end, making it a question. Emmett lowered his chin a bit but continued to giggle under her glare. "Alice!"

"Oh, calm down, Rose. They won't." Alice's voice was amused as she pulled out her cell phone and speed dialed Carlisle for the third time. I watched the water while I waited for the leader and his wife to arrive, though it was harder to see as my brothers and the Cullens were all next to me, forming a big circle. It felt like an AA meeting or something. I briefly imagined walking into the middle of the circle and introducing myself to everyone…

_Hello, my name is Leah, and I…_

"Leah, this isn't an intervention." I ignored Edward's claim. This was beginning to get annoying. I was used to my thoughts being private when I was in human form. "I'm sorry," Edward answered my thoughts yet again. "I was only trying to help." Edward had begun to hang his head and pout again until Bella cupped his chin in her hand and shook her head at him, smiling. Was she trying to tell him that he wasn't allowed to sulk? Instantly he smiled and she planted a kiss on his nose. I saw Nessie stop to look at her parents, temporarily distracted from the game of tag she was playing with Jacob. The distraction resulted in her being caught. Before I could upset myself I turned my head to face the water. As I watched the waves hit the shore one by one I sung to myself in my head.

_900 bottles of beer on the wall. 900 bottles of beer. Take one down, pass it around…_

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Edward glance over at me curiously. I tried to keep it up, hoping to be successful in masking the thought I was trying to hide: _Why can't I have what they have?_ Quickly Edward turned away, back to Bella, deliberately not looking at me now. I must have let it slip then. I needed to ask Seth how to hide my thoughts correctly. Just when I thought I wouldn't be able to hide my embarrassment any longer, Carlisle and Esme appeared in the middle of the circle.

"Should we light a bonfire?" Carlisle asked, clearly teasing. "This looks kind of cozy."

Fire, huh? That wouldn't really be in the best interest of more than half the people sitting here. _People? _I usually didn't think of them as people. Somewhere in the past hour, though, that had changed. _Damn gorgeous vampire. _Sigh - he was, though. Damn gorgeous, indeed. Embarrassed, I turned my head away from the crowd, leaning my chin against my shoulder to avoid the eyes of the one person who would have heard that thought. That's when I smelled the smell that I'd been both looking forward to and dreading at the exact same time.

"Shhhhh," Edward whispered. No one reacted. Was he talking to me?

I turned in his direction and he slightly inclined his head. Ah, so this is how they communicated without anyone noticing. One corner of his mouth rose ever so slightly.

"Emmett," Edward said, "will you come back to the house with me for just a moment? I want to get something that I…forgot." Emmett raised an eyebrow.

"Forgot?" Emmett looked confused. I was too for a second, but then I remembered – their type simply didn't forget.

"Exactly." I found it amusing that he had just answered both of us. "And I may need Jasper's help as well to help me…look for it."

Bella's head snapped around to face Edward.

"I thought you just forgot something. This 'something'" – yes, she air quoted – "is now lost as well?"

Edward stared her down, and for a moment I wondered if she was able to hear his thoughts too. "Yes," he said evenly. She nodded.

"Then I guess we should get going," Jasper drawled. I had no idea what Edward was planning, but by the sudden smiles that appeared on both Jasper's and Emmett's faces the moment they made eye contact, I knew it involved my vampire. "Sounds like this could take a while."

*~*

**Vampire POV**

I was following far enough behind the might-be-wolf that he wouldn't know I was behind him, though he might assume. I hoped that his scent would lead me to my wolf. At the same time, though, I wondered what I would find.

The wolves I was tracking didn't fit with what I believed to be the characteristics of a werewolf. But there was no other explanation for the size of the man from the baby store – not to mention the stench. No. They had to be werewolves…maybe they were just some mutant strain that could change at will.

As I got farther into the woods I picked up another scent. Several other scents, actually. I decided I was more interested in the mixture of scents than the other werewolf and started toward the salt water scent – a beach? I walked briskly, hastening through the trees. Until I heard a very faint, yet very distinct _crack._

I came to a halt. _Someone is here._ There was a bustling sound, a quiet chuckle, and then a lean, male vampire with a bronze, messy mop came out of the trees.

"Hello," he said calmly. "I'd like to speak with you for just a moment." Did I know him? He didn't address me by name, but it was odd for one strange vampire to approach another in this manner. Wasn't he afraid that he would surprise me and I would attack? "I'm not here to fight," he assured me. "Just to talk. I have a..." he trailed off, seeming to be considering his next words, "situation on my hands. And you seem to be at the center of it."

Was that a threat?

"I'm not threatening you, I assure you." Okay, that was unsettling. Unless…

_You're hearing my thoughts, aren't you?_

He nodded. "You're astute."

"I wasn't born yesterday."

He laughed, but I heard others laughing as well. From the sounds of their laughter I was surrounded. Was he trying to trick me into being calm so that he could surprise me with an attack?

"Paranoid, aren't you?"

_A little. _It would be useful to have his power right now, so I would know what the others were thinking. In case they were planning the perfect moment to pounce. Seeing as how I did not have his power, though, I decided not to speak out loud. I wouldn't give the others any advantage.

"What's going on?" a voice from behind me and slightly to the right inquired.

"He still thinks we're trying to attack him," the bronze haired one responded.

"Are you kidding? Dude! Lighten up."

_Well what _do _you want, then?_

The bronze haired one sighed.

"As we understand it, you encountered a large wolf not too long ago. Is that correct?" I nodded. "Well as it turns out, she – " _She? _"Yes. She is a friend of ours and we – "

I stopped hearing him. The smell of fresh blood was so sweet, untainted by any of the supernatural smells surrounding me, that I didn't think before I began running. I was aware of the sounds behind me, but the smell was so alluring that I didn't care about defending my kill. I continued to run, picking up speed with every stride.

And then the bronze haired one appeared out of nowhere in front of me and – for lack of a better term – close-lined me.

I didn't fall to the floor. Instead I fell back into a very wide vampire who swiftly put a cloth bag over my head. I could see through it slightly, so this mafia-like technique would have been amusing if I wasn't so annoyed.

I swung my limbs frantically but hit nothing. There were three sets of hands on me now, dragging me backward – to where, I didn't know. I was thirsty, but the bloodlust took a backseat to my survival instinct as I dug my heels into the forest floor. Nevertheless, they continued to move me.

While a part of my brain was working on a method of escape – which another part of my brain knew was pointless because the bronze haired one was no doubt _listening _to it – another part of my brain thought about how odd this was. _Was_ this some kind of vampire mafia? Were they forcing nomads to join their numbers for some reason – perhaps to try and take on the Volturi? What was this?

I recognized the bronze haired one's chuckle.

"What?" one of the others asked.

"His imagination is…vast."

More laughter. But their calm conversation did not comfort me. Instead, it made me even more nervous for what would come next. Soon I was shaking. Every part of me quivering, and seeming to grow warm.

Perhaps it was because I was so afraid of being thrown into the supernaturally reinforced trunk of someone's car that I didn't think about the impossible reactions my body was having to this situation. Otherwise, I might have spent more time considering – not _why_ I was shaking and essentially running a fever, but rather _how_. Otherwise, perhaps I would have wondered why the bronze haired one was directing the others to stop pulling me and whispering a hurried stream of awed profanities.

As it happened, however, I wasn't paying attention, so I was taken fully by surprise when all at once, I seemed to literally explode out of my own body.

When it was finished, my entire being was inside the bag. The bronze haired one said something. I couldn't make it out completely, but it sounded a bit like, "You have got to be kidding."


	3. Chapter 3 Immunity

**Disclaimer: **All publically recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Immunity**

**Leah POV**

It was the strangest place we could have chosen to make love. It was outside – out in the open, here on the beach where my family frequently roamed. I couldn't make sense of how we had come to be here, yet here we were. Lying in the sand, with no clothes in sight. With his eyes only on me. With his smooth, cool finger gently tracing a path from behind my ear to my collarbone.

I shivered. He seemed to take my response to his touch as an invitation, and shifted his weight, sliding easily on top of me. I wrapped my arms around him, adjusting my position to allow him to settle where we both wanted him most. His face disappeared from my sight as he leaned down to kiss the soft spot behind my ear. My fingers tangled in his hair in response. With his face buried in my neck somewhere, he began to purr.

Something inside me was beginning to purr as well. I wanted him now – I needed to make him aware of that so that I could have him. I pulled at his hair, indicating for him to look at me. The moment he did I was stunned, and my quick intake of breath could not have escaped his notice.

His eyes were the most beautiful shade of amber I had ever seen. They smoldered as I stared into them, not only with lust now, but with deep emotion.

There was a strange nagging feeling that had begun to pull at me the moment I saw his eyes. But why would his eyes bother me? They were so beautiful. They belonged to him, and he was looking at me like no one had ever looked at me before.

"You're wondering about my eyes?" he asked. It was strange. His voice was…how could I describe it…blurry? It sounded incredible, unlike anything I'd ever heard. Yet, at the same time, it had no distinct sound at all.

How was that possible?

"I guess," I responded anyway, to hear him talk again.

"I did it for you. Because I love you."

He did it for me? What did he mean? What did he do for me? He planted a sweet kiss on the tip of my nose, and I realized that despite the intriguing sound of his voice, I would rather investigate later. I would end this conversation now and instead focus on the tantalizing feeling of his cool skin on mine.

The nagging feeling continued to pull at me, but I was determined to ignore it. I pushed my head off of the sand and claimed his mouth with mine. He felt…odd. The kiss was sweet, cool and almost perfect, except for one thing – the taste.

It didn't taste bad. It just didn't seem to taste like anything at all. Like his voice, it was all a blur. Barely there, something that I couldn't quite place. But why shouldn't I be able to place the taste if I was here, experiencing it right now?

Was my nose stuffy? Did I have a cold?

I sniffed. And air flowed quickly and perfectly into my nostrils. And his scent filled my head, but not the way I had expected. It wasn't as potent as it should have been from this distance.

The nagging feeling yanked at me.

"What is it?" he asked me, his voice a gentle (and blurred) whisper.

"I don't know," I told him. "Things don't seem…strange to you?" I didn't wait for him to answer. I turned my head to the side, though it almost hurt to take my focus away from the exquisite lines of his face, and appraised my surroundings. This was the same beach. It was, and yet it wasn't. The sound of the waves was a bit off. Each crash seemed to be perfectly timed, sounding strangely repetitive, like the sleep setting of a sound machine that had been programmed to "ocean". And the color of things, the brightness of things wasn't exactly right either. The farther into the distance I looked the blurrier things got, which may have been normal when I was human but not now…

_Tug. _That nagging feeling again. What _was _it?

"Won't you look at me?" he purred. Would I look at him? Of course I would look at him. All I wanted to do was look at him. It was just that something wasn't right. How could I make love to him when something wasn't right – was something bad about to happen? Nevertheless, I turned my head and met his amber eyes, unable to deny him anything. "It's alright. Everything is fine."

"Something feels wrong," I admitted.

"Nothing is wrong. Kiss me." He nudged the side of my face with his nose, trying to coax me toward him. The kiss only made me worry more, but I decided to deal with that later. All the blurriness could wait.

I reached down between us and found that it wasn't hard to redirect my attention back to its original goal. He purred again as I guided him closer to me, and then wrapped my legs around him.

He paused. I didn't understand. I was ready for him. We were lined up perfectly, I was panting and I was so desperate to make love to him _right now_ that I thought I would explode. I tugged at him encouragingly, willing him to slide into me the way I wanted. Willing him to understand that, yes, he was in the right place, and yes, I was more than ready.

He didn't move. I knew it. Something _was_ wrong. Was that what the nagging feeling was all about? That he didn't want me?

"What?" I asked him, turning my head to meet his gaze. But once looking at him, I knew I couldn't be correct. He had to want me. Just look at him…

"I just wanted you to know that I love you." I smiled. "So, before we start…" I angled my hips toward him impatiently at the word _start_. He pulled his face away, as if he knew that this way I could take in his entire expression. "I love you, Leah."

"I love you…" I trailed off. I started to say his name. I tried. But then I realized I couldn't because I didn't know his name. The nagging feeling was back again, and tugging harder than ever. My thoughts were working fast now. Why wouldn't I know his name? How could that be possible when I was so in love with him? And he loved me too! And we were naked and he was on top of me and just inches from…

…_killing someone who had wandered too far into the woods but we caught him…_

What? Where the hell had that voice come from? I looked around us frantically and finally saw Edward Cullen standing about a mile from us at the entrance to the forest. I started to move, to cover myself, but the weight on top of me didn't let up. I didn't want to use force. I didn't want to hurt him, but _why_ was he not concerned about being seen?

I knew this had been a stupid spot to make love.

I looked up, exasperated, not wanting the moment to end but knowing that it had to. What would I say to him? How would I tell him that we had to stop – stop _and _get out of sight because we were, most unfortunately, being watched?

But I lost focus of that when I looked at the sky. It was perfect. Too perfect. A solid, even shade of gray. There wasn't a single blemish, not a single cloud. I looked quickly toward Edward and noted the forest behind him. Also too perfect, with trees that were all the same shade of green and much too evenly spaced. As if it was only the _idea_ of a forest…

Just then something sparkly caught my eye. A single, white ray of light was forming on the sand. I looked up again. The sky was no longer a perfect shade of gray. There were thick clouds now, and the sun was peeking out from behind one of them. As they moved, the ray of light on the beach moved, coming closer and closer to us. When it finally reached us I wasn't able to focus on the warmth it created on my face, too distracted by the way it made the body on top of me sparkle.

The nagging feeling was back. My thoughts were racing. _Vampire_, I realized. He was a vampire.

I jerked my head back toward the forest when I saw smoke out of the corner of my eye. The forest was smoking, and suddenly erupted with fire, as though the heat from the sun had set it ablaze.

Only now did my companion react. _Fire_, I thought. Of course.

"Leah!" My name sounded different on his lips, now in a harsh whisper. "We have to move."

I knew he was right. And the fact that he was a vampire didn't bother me as much as the idea of him being hurt. So I took his hands once he'd leapt off of me and allowed him to pull me to my feet.

"Where do we go?" I asked. He didn't respond. I looked to my right – the fire was spreading. I wanted to say something to get his attention, to yell his name. But I couldn't, I remembered. I didn't know it. _Why?_ "Come on!"

I yanked his arm. Nothing happened. I looked up at his face, but he was staring into the forest. His eyes were even redder than the fire.

The nagging feeling attacked again, this time pulling me straight out of my dream. I woke up in damp sheets. I could feel the sheen of a cold sweat on my body. There were several voices coming from the window. The mixture of the tones and textures assured me that vampires were here.

Why?

But the thought of vampires reminded me of my dream. And my dream reminded me of reality. And the reality was that I had imprinted on…

Great. I hopped out of bed and started toward the window. If there was some type of meeting going on, I needed to be present. I ignored the tears that threatened to rush down my face as more and more details of yesterday – of reality – came crashing back. I peeked out the window. All of the Cullens were gathered on the shore, with all of the wolves from both packs. _Hey. _They had actually lit a bonfire. There was food and everything.

Yes, this looked like a meeting. And then a part of my dream rushed into my head. That voice…

…_wandered into the woods…we caught him…_

My vampire? Suddenly Edward met my eye, his face apologetic. I didn't wait to ask him, mentally or otherwise, if they had hurt him. I just bolted for the door and ran toward the beach as fast as I could.

…

"Tell me again," I spoke the words slowly, more for my own benefit than for that of anyone else. "Where is he?"

"He's…" Edward lifted to cloth bag in his hand as he spoke. It seemed empty at first, but I could see the bag shifting a bit, as if something were poking around inside it. "He is inside the bag."

"Do you think this is funny?"

"Perhaps it would be clearer if I said this – he is the _thing_ inside the bag. We haven't opened it. Whatever it is that's in there, it's moving much too quickly for us to control if it were to get out."

I wasn't sure that I was hearing all of this right. Okay, no, that was a lie. I was absolutely sure that I was hearing everything right. It was just that none of what I was hearing made any sense! What were they trying to make me believe, exactly? That the vampire I'd seen in the woods was now in that cloth bag? All six feet and five inches of him? Impossible.

Suddenly Edward was charging toward me. I didn't want to move back an inch, unwilling, in spite of recent events, to concede to any vampire. He was taller than me, though, and I did have to lean back slightly and tilt my chin up in order to look him in the eye. His words were rushed as he spoke in a rough whisper.

"If you got too angry, you could tear a small building to shreds. Not because you'd exert any sort of force to accomplish it; not because you'd make an effort. But because the sheer size of you would be too much for the average enclosed space to handle." I wasn't following. Edward rolled his eyes. Then, "You stand here before me, an average sized girl. Yet when you phase, and I mean this without offense, you become huge. Massive. Towering well over me, unlike now, where you're breaking your neck to look me in the eye. I'm not telling you anything unimaginable right now. The vampire you saw _is_ in this bag. He may not look the way he did in the clearing, but it _is_ him. It is not impossible."

"So what are you telling me, that he phased? That's – " I bit back the word _impossible_. "How could that be?"

"I'm not sure if 'phase' is the right word in his case. Whatever we'll find in the bag, it isn't a wolf."

"Maybe a fetal wolf," Jacob jokingly interjected. We continued to talk as though he hadn't spoken.

"It must be the extra power. He can shape shift."

"I thought that too, at first. But –"

"But that shouldn't be possible," Bella jumped in. "Vampires are frozen. They…" she paused, "…we…can't change. Shape shifting is a change that our bodies shouldn't be able to accommodate."

"Well done, Bella." Carlisle all but crooned the words.

"That too," Edward continued, after a brief smile in Bella's direction, "but there's more than that. This can't be an extra power. Not one like the rest of ours. I heard his thoughts while he was changing. I hear his thoughts now. He is – and was – in a complete state of panic. I don't think it had ever happened to him before – the change, I mean. He wasn't aware that he was capable."

There was a sudden stab in my heart. Anger was the trigger for us "werewolves". For my vampire, it must have been fear. Whatever had happened between him and the Cullens in the forest must have triggered a power he didn't even know he had.

He must have been more scared than he ever had been in his life. Or…existence. Whatever.

And he was still scared? _Well duh, Leah, of course he's scared! _He probably couldn't see much of anything from inside that bag. He had no idea what was going on right now.

"Let him out!" I screamed.

"Leah, wait. We don't know – "

"Let him go!" I swung at the bag, desperate to free it from Edward's grasp. His infinitesimal movements continued to miss my frantic – though well aimed – swings. The bag remained closed, tightly in his hand. I was shaking, but I didn't care. Jacob's clothes would be shredded to bits. I didn't care. He would not continue to contain my vampire. My vampire would not be confused or scared or hurt. _Dammit, what is his _name_! _I didn't try to keep my distance when the change took place and ignored the tearing-metal sound it made as my fangs grazed Edward's neck. The rest of the coven flashed to their feet, ready to take me down. My instincts kicked in quickly, noting the positions of the seven other vampires and contemplating ways to eliminate them. Nessie suddenly looked particularly lethal, even with Jacob holding her back. I made a mental note to avoid hurting her.

A snarl ripped from Edward's lips the minute I thought of Renesmee. I stalked forward, ready to take him out, when suddenly I was knocked across the beach into a cliff. The part of rock that I hit fell off as a result of the impact, landing neatly on top of me, onto what would have been my good side. I quickly pulled myself to my feet. A rib was broken. I twisted back toward the shore to see who had hit me. _Sting. _Correction: a rib on each side was broken. Six of the seven candidates seemed concerned. Only one met my stare with eyes that were, for once, bloodthirsty._ Bella. _

Her first, then. I'd take her out now. Edward would come to help her; I'd eliminate him next, and then it would be easy to ignore Renesmee. She'd be focused on her parents – on putting Mr. and Mrs. Humpty Dumpty back together again. Meanwhile, I'd…

_Leah._

_Shit._ Jake had phased. I wasn't counting on that. I assumed he'd stay out of it, for Renesmee's sake.

_This _is_ for Renesmee's sake. Do you think I'd let her watch her parents get hurt?_

_Oh, thanks! Thanks so much for being on my side, for once. It's all about her then, is it?_

_Not just about her, Leah. For you, too. We'll let him go. _I huffed, and sat back on my haunches. Jacob sat too, opposite me. The Cullens and the rest of the packs stepped back to let us negotiate. Only Edward's eyes were still trained on us. He just couldn't resist listening in, could he? His eyes flashed to Bella, then Renesmee, then back to me, his expression stern as ever. For once, he seemed un-phased by his invasion of my privacy.

I realized that another pair of eyes was focused on me. Carlisle, the leader. His expression was less intense, though. He didn't look like he was preparing to fight. He looked…confused?

_Leah._

Right. I'd deal with that later.

_There's nothing to deal with, Leah. _Jacob's thoughts were a snarl.

_Fine. Then tell me, what did they do to him in the forest?_

_Nothing – _

_That can't be true! What was he so scared about, then?_

_Edward said they tried to talk to him. It would have gone fine, but right in the middle he smelled human blood and made a run for it._

_Who?_ The Quileute tribe wasn't big. It had to be someone we knew…

_Sue. Well…and Charlie. Or, it would have been, if he had gotten that far. _I was speechless. What were they even doing that far in the woods? _Charlie was coming to watch the game with my father. Sue was in the car. Somewhere along the trail she saw a bunch of ripped clothes all together. She figured if we all phased in a hurry, something was wrong. So she jumped out of the car, planning to run straight to Sam's to talk to Emily, but she tripped. She cut her knee._

_But they stopped him._

_Of course they did. They just held him back, but Edward says he was so sure he was being kidnapped by some vampire mafia – _I snorted. Vampire mafia? Come on. – _that he freaked. Then he started shaking and running a…well…for him I guess you could call it a fever. And then it happened. _

_He phased._

_Or, um, changed? Whatever you want to call it. _Okay. At least they hadn't hurt him. I had pictured a confrontation much worse than that. Still, it was time to let him free. He shouldn't be cooped up like that. _Leah, I agree with you. Still, considering what almost happened to Charlie and your mom, aren't you the least bit worried about letting him go? He could hurt someone._

Jake was right.

But then…on second thought. He had come back, just like my brothers had promised. He didn't come to hunt here. He came back for me. So now that he was here…

_That's true. _Jake was on his feet now. All four of them. _He probably won't leave again._

_And the Cullens are here now, so…_

_Also true._

Jake knew my intentions, and now he was as ready as I was to get my nameless vampire out of the bag. The Cullens were here. The packs were both here. We had plenty of "man" power, should anything go wrong. And on the other hand, we had eight and a half vegetarians that could start convincing my vampire to change his feeding habits. So maybe, just maybe, this could work out for me. My mind wandered to my dream before I remembered to try and censor my thoughts…

_Ugh! Okay, Leah. I'm phasing…_

I snickered. Or at least I meant to snicker, but in my wolf form it sounded like a sneeze. Fine, I guess I could phase back too and get this over with.

_Wait! My clothes…_

A big t-shirt landed at my front paws. When I looked up, Jacob was in his human form again, dressed in only shorts. I thanked him with a nod.

"You're welcome, brat. Go phase, get dressed, and get back here."

I trotted off to find some cover. My heart began to race in my oversized body. They were going to let him free, and soon he would be calm enough to change back. _I was going to see him again!_ Soon I was running so unnecessarily fast that it took a small tree to stop me when I reached my hiding place.

I phased quickly and slid into my shirt.

"Sorry," I muttered to the tree as I picked it up and carried it toward the beach with me. I supposed it would do if we needed more firewood at some point. "I guess I got overexcited."

…

Strange looks from the packs found my face as I carried my mysterious baby tree toward the shore. I shook my head, not wanting my excitement brought to anyone's awareness just yet. I dropped my forest trophy just a few feet from the bonfire.

"What happened, Leah?" Seth teased. "Did you crash?" Jake grinned. Count on them to bring _everyone's _attention to my souvenir.

"I should carve, 'I phased, and all I got was this lousy log' into the side."

"Shut it, Jake," I snapped. I wanted to get this over with. I wanted my vampire to phase – or change – back. I wanted to ask him some very important questions. Like his name, perhaps, so I could stop referring to him as _my_ vampire. Not that he wasn't. Mine, that is. Or a vampire, actually. But I guess it would help my situation, even in the most miniscule way, if I weren't reminded of that inconvenient fact every second that I tried referring to him.

I looked around at my brothers and the Cullens. I wasn't sure what I was expecting. Maybe for Edward to walk to the top of a cliff with the bag in his raised arms, the sun positioned perfectly behind him, and proclaim, "It is time." I shook my head to myself.

"What?" Jake wondered.

"Nothing," I smiled to myself, "I've just been watching too many Disney movies lately."

"Okaaaayyy…"

"Whatever. Let's just focus. Don't we have something to do?"

Not yet, apparently. The wolves looked fine. It was the vampires whose demeanor I couldn't figure out. Carlisle was shaking his head, mostly to himself, but glancing around him hesitantly. As if he was thinking something important, but wasn't sure whether now was the time to mention it.

"Is there a problem?" He looked at me. Despite the venom (for lack of a better term) in my tone, his expression was warm. Filled with worry. "There is, isn't there? What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure if now is the time," he spoke softly. "Why don't we do what you'd like, for now, and talk about it later?"

I thought about that. I did want to see my vampire. I wanted to _meet_ him. But after what had almost happened to my mom and Charlie, I was done being irresponsible. If something was wrong, I needed to know. We all did.

Edward nodded. Whoops…

"Uh, Edward. I'm…"

"I know. It's fine," he spoke quickly. His tone wasn't harsh, but it was a bit dismissive. I didn't blame him.

"And Leah," Bella started, "well. You know."

I nodded. When our exchange of apologies for nearly killing one another had reached its apparent end, Carlisle stepped forward a bit. Our group had seemed to unconsciously form a circle, which he was now nearly at the center of. Not too close to the fire, though.

"I don't mean to hold us up. It's just…Leah, when you phased and accidentally bit Edward…" he trailed off. I was beginning to get worried. It wasn't like their type to be so lost for words. "Leah, you feel fine, don't you?"

"Yeah, fine. Why?"

"Edward's teeth grazed you just a bit." I froze. His teeth? But then…the venom. I should be poisoned. I should be…

"Yes, but you're not." For once I was grateful – Edward interrupted me before I could utter, even mentally, the word that would have almost accurately described me. "He's been wondering about this since it happened. You've got a scar, which means my teeth penetrated your skin. My venom had to have gotten in."

"Maybe it wasn't enough," Bella offered.

"I haven't known that to make a difference before." Carlisle's voice was almost a whisper. He paced in his spot, his brow furrowed in thought.

"Are we really complaining about this?!" Jacob's voice was louder than the rest of ours. I was surprised at his intensity. "She's alive. And we're all trying to figure out why it didn't go the other way?!" Carlisle flashed to his side and put a hand on his shoulder. Jake didn't shake it off. _I would have. _Or at least…before today, I would have. Now I wasn't so sure.

"Calm down, Jacob," Carlisle spoke slowly now. "It isn't that I'm not grateful for the way things turned out. I'm just curious, now. Either Edward is no longer venomous, or Leah is immune."

All eyes were on me now. I guess everyone was assuming I was the freak of nature. Surprise, surprise.

"What if it's neither of those?" I spoke up. "What if it was a fluke?"

"If you wouldn't mind, I could take some samples." I didn't follow. Carlisle continued, "Your DNA. Edward's venom. All of ours, in fact. Including…" he gestured toward to bag.

I nodded.

"I guess we'd better do this, then. So we can turn me into a science experiment."

Edward placed the cloth bag on the floor, then lifted it, revealing its contents. The little red and yellow bird hopped excitedly for a few moments, then made a b-line in the air that ended on my shoulder. I gasped.

"Leah's got a pet," Paul laughed.

I didn't bother telling him to shut his fat mouth. I looked toward my shoulder in wonder. The little bird had sky blue eyes and a tiny golden beak. _Chirp. Chirp, chirp. _The sounds were chirps and yet there was a distinct texture to them that I'd never heard from an animal was singing to me. _Okay, snap out of it. _It wasn't a bird, and it wasn't singing. Probably he was yelling how badly he wanted to kill me.

"He recognizes your scent." Edward's voice was a whisper. "He knows you're the wolf from the clearing. He's much more relaxed now – he's been focusing on our conversation and, in turn, on calming down. In which case, you might want to get him off your shoulder before – "

"Right." I started to reach for him myself before I realized I wasn't sure how to hold him. Would he feel like a small bird? Would I crush him?

"Just ask him to hop down."

"He can hear you, right? But he hasn't already, so what makes you think he'll do it if I ask?"

"He'll listen to you."

"See?" Paul nudged Jared. "Told you she had a pet."

"You don't want to change back on my shoulder, do you? Hop down." The bird looked at me, then at the floor. It looked at me again and chirped. "Hop down."

"He doesn't want to go back in the bag." Edward was actually pretty useful in this situation.

"Not so you can get in the bag, silly. So you can change. We need to talk to you," I crooned. I raised one finger slowly, intending to pet his back. I half expected him to snap at my finger. He didn't. He closed his eyes and made a humming sound, then hopped to my feet as I'd asked. I wondered if it would be this easy once he was a full blown vampire again.

I doubted it.

*~*

**Vampire POV**

She was the most beautiful thing I had seen in all my years, though in this body, especially from this vantage point, she looked particularly huge. I assessed her body quickly so that I could move on to more important things. Once I'd memorized her from the neck down, I made use of my newfound wings and sped to her shoulder.

I regretted it immediately, expecting to be swatted from my perch by one of her exquisite hands. Instead, she turned to face me, an awed expression on her face.

Her eyes were brown, but so deep a brown that they almost looked black. Almost, except that little flecks of gold shimmered in them when she turned her face. Her skin was a deep cinnamon. Her hair was cropped short, but it was styled, like some woman I'd seen in the movies recently – Halle something. Her scent was exactly right. It was odd; the more I smelled her, the less I minded the undertone of wet dog to her aroma. I could find it, only if I concentrated, but mostly I smelled all the things that made her smell so different from the awful stench of the others.

She asked me to get back on the ground but assured me they wouldn't capture me again. When her finger made contact with my…well…whatever she was touching, I lost the will to move. But she stopped, and I realized she was waiting for me to comply. Oddly, I trusted her, so I hopped onto the sand.

It was strange. I had come to find her, to kill her. Yet now, I couldn't imagine doing such a thing. I understood my purpose better, it seemed, now that I was actually here. And all of the talk the other wolves and the yellow-eyes had been having about imprinting seemed to click nicely in place with this revelation.

It wasn't her extra hunting power that had brought me here. There had never been an extra power in the first place. The ache I felt in the forest, the pull, it _had _been her, just not in the way I had thought. She had changed me, changed my reason for existing. I had laid eyes on her and all the ties I had to this world had been cut from their previous owner's and tied inextricably to her. Gravity had brought me here, and she was the source from which it pulled. A part of me was furious and reluctant. I hadn't asked for my life to change; I didn't _want _my life to change. Especially with all this talk about animal blood. Did that explain the yellow eyes? _Never. _A greater part of me, however, was accepting this all with astonishing grace. At least, where she was concerned.

Leah was her name? _Leah. _Pretty, I thought.

A distant chirping sound invaded my thoughts, but I quickly realized that the sound was my own, echoing back from the cliffs.

I was still a tiny bird, standing at the feet of my reason for existing. And she was my life now – as much as I didn't understand it, it was blatantly obvious. Though I'd been listening as well as I could to the conversation, especially where I was mentioned, I wasn't entirely sure of what sort of relationship we were meant to have. But I did think, at the very least, that we should meet. Properly; both of us in a human form. Or, as human as I could manage.

But how?

The bronze haired vampire – Edward, I'd heard him called – murmured something. Suddenly many wolves were surrounding me. _So they _were _capturing me. _Edward sighed deeply.

"Oh, would you relax! They're trying to help you," he explained.

"Sam," a wolf spoke, "you want to do this?"

"Fine," the wolf called Sam answered. He looked down at me, but didn't hover. I assumed he was keeping his distance, both to keep me calm and to prepare for the change. "You need to breathe deeply and focus on the heat you felt before the change." I did so. "Now, concentrate on pulling the heat back from your extremities, into your center. Concentrate, but keep calm."

I felt the heat rescinding back and back from my unfamiliar body. Without instruction, I focused on the body I knew, on my human (well, not precisely human) form. It didn't feel like an explosion this time. It was smoother and faster.

I looked up before I got to my feet, anxious to find the only pair of eyes that mattered to me. I was faced with the back of her head, though. Before I could worry, my own clothes were being thrown on top of me by my captors, who then turned their backs to give me privacy.

I was on my feet and dressed within the same second. My eyes found her again. The sun was starting to peek out from behind the clouds, creating a crimson shimmer in her hair. I cleared my throat. Her heart began to quicken. I smiled.

"Leah?" I made sure to keep my voice calm and gentle. I didn't want to get attacked, and I had no doubt that this group would do just that if it appeared that I meant her any harm. She turned toward me slowly, as though she was reluctant to see me, but her eyes were searching for me the whole way, as though she was eager at the very same time.

Finally we were standing face to face. Neither of us spoke. I didn't breathe. We just stood there, appraising each other. I wasn't sure how much time had passed before my questions re-entered my mind, but once they did, I took my first breath in however long and prepared to get my answers.

"Wait," she spoke. Her voice was music, and it took me an extra couple of seconds to process what she'd actually said, as I was so caught up in the way she sounded when she said it. "Tell me your name."

It amused me that she'd demanded my name rather than asking it. It said a lot about her character. Though, the fact that I'd neglected to supply the information myself said a great deal about mine. Where were my manners?

"Tobias," I told her, slowly and softly, careful not to alarm her or anyone else. She didn't respond. She continued to stare at me, at my eyes particularly, and after a while her gaze became scrutinizing. "Is there something wrong with me?" I wondered out loud.

"Your eyes," she whispered, though her tone remained stern. "They're blood red." Of course they were. I was a vampire. This was how we looked.

Although, the others here had strange yellow eyes. Is that how she would have preferred me? I wondered what it would take for me to look that way, though I was afraid I already knew the answer. As much as I wanted to please her, I was not willing to do what obtaining those eyes would require. She gasped.

My gaze had drifted away from hers while I was deep in thought, but snapped back to her at the sound. She didn't appear to have been hurt. Still, I asked.

"Are you alright?"

"They're gold now," she breathed. Her tone had changed. She sounded amazed, but also confused. Suddenly, she looked away from me. I hated it. The loss of eye contact almost physically stung. I followed her gaze immediately, with some strange emotion compelling me. I landed on a male vampire, who seemed older than the others in more ways than one. Maybe even older than me. "How did he do that?"

The vampire looked me over quickly. When his eyes found mine, they grew wide with wonder.

"It seems our new friend is more powerful than we thought."


	4. Chapter 4 Before The Storm

**Disclaimer: **All publically recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Before the Storm**

**Leah POV**

This was a problem. Despite the fact that his face, which had become even more beautiful than it had been in the clearing – a thing I'd never imagined possible – now resembled the one in my dream, my mind was focused on the facts. And the facts were that he'd changed his eyes without changing his diet.

That was an _enormous_ problem.

For one thing, he was an extremely powerful shape shifter. Okay, I had imprinted on him, and he seemed to have no aversion to me, so it was stupid to feel threatened by his power. Still, a part of me instinctively flinched away from the idea of a vampire having that type of advantage. He could be so lethal, so deceptive, if he really honed his ability and perfected it.

Already he'd changed his eyes. Which meant – and this was the more troubling problem – that even _if_ we were able to reason with him, physically force him or otherwise manage to get him to give animal blood a try, anytime it got a little hard and he longed for the taste that he really thirsted for, he could have it. He could cheat. And his eyes wouldn't glow red, as they well should in any creature heartless enough to take an innocent's life just for its own sustenance. He could make them glow a lovely gold, rich and warm as honey.

No one would know.

"_I _would know," Edward assured me. Immediately, my thoughts slowed down and began to process, once again, at a normal rate. I was beginning to grow thankful for this werewolf – vampire alliance.

The normal paced thoughts continued to course through my brain, but came to a stop as my beautiful, now golden eyed, vampire, Tobias, made his way toward me. Everyone tensed but me. Feeling ashamed for trusting him so obviously, I stared him down and tried to make myself alert as he closed the distance between us with just three steps. To his credit, he did move at a pace that would have been slow even for a human. He wanted my trust – he wanted all of ours.

"I don't understand. You're angry?" His velvety whisper sent a chill down my spine. I shivered noticeably, shaking the sensation free of my neck and shoulders so that I could pretend to be focused again. From this distance, I could feel his breath on my face. It was cool and sweet, as I expected, but somehow not repulsive in any way. I hadn't expected that. I remembered his scent as I had encountered it in the forest, when I had been hunting him. But now, instead of smelling like any other vampire, all I noticed were the things about his incredible aroma that made him smell so different. The wood, the vanilla, the lovely scent of sea air – that was his scent, with just a hint of vampire if I concentrated really hard.

I realized that my mind had been wandering when his expression seemed to grow concerned. What had he asked me? I met his eyes now, and allowed my gaze to linger there for the first time since he'd changed them. _Oh. _That's right. He didn't understand my reaction.

"Leah?" There it was again. His soft, velvet whisper. And again, I ignored the bodily reactions his voice inspired and focused on him – in a completely un-emotional way – hard. Slowly his hand began to rise from the side of his body. From the way his hand was positioned, his intentions were obvious – he was going to touch me. I had so much time to contemplate touching him first and pinning his arm back at his side where it probably belonged. I watched myself do it in my mind three or four times. Then I thought of a gentler way to reject him, perhaps by simply taking a few steps back before he reached me. Perhaps he wouldn't realize that I had deliberately escaped his touch.

But of course he would notice. I was sure that the reason he was moving so slowly was to give me the very options I had just been considering. Not that the fact that I had considered them made any difference (except that it would be that much more embarrassing the next time my brothers heard my thoughts), because as much as I mentally cringed away from the thought of letting a vampire touch me, a part of me longed for the touch of _this _vampire even more. That part of me was so much stronger, so much more dominant than the other part, and it longed for him so much in every way that, as much as I hated to admit it, I didn't care what he was.

So I didn't move. I didn't change my position at all, which would have eliminated the reason for what he was about to do, but watched as he touched my chin with his fingers, coaxed my gaze upward, and then cupped my face fully in his hand.

"I didn't mean to upset you." His whisper was different now. Though he was conscious of the others, careful not to provoke any negative action, it was also clear that he meant his words only for me. "I thought you would be pleased. Please trust me." I already trusted him. How could he not know that? For over a year I had believed that his kind were my mortal enemies and hated everything about them without exception. Now here I was with my face in his hand, looking at him like Ingrid Bergman had looked at Humphrey Bogart right before she got on the plane.

Slowly he raised his other arm, and took my face in both his hands. He inched a step closer, then began lowering his face to mine. Inch by inch he got closer. I was thankful for his height – the distance he had to travel to get to me gave me so much more time to think. I thought of my fantasies in the forest, the way we had kissed before I had noticed his eyes and pushed the beautiful thoughts away. I thought of my dream. His eyes were the same now as they had been there, and it would be easy to pretend that the circumstances were as well. That he had made an enormous sacrifice for me. Because he loved me, he had said…

But he hadn't. Not yet, anyway. So far, all he'd done was disguise the only part of him that, despite the obnoxious gravitational pull that I felt toward him, I still hated. And if love (not that he'd said he loved me yet, but still…) wasn't enough for him to concede, then I wasn't conceding either.

I grabbed his wrists and pushed them away with a little too much force as I took several steps back from him. The pain from being separated by too many inches hit his face immediately. It hit me too. Quickly, I rushed forward to close the distance between us, but I left it at that. I didn't touch him.

"I'm not upset that your eyes are gold now." I explained quickly, trying to keep the tension out of my voice, though I was a little annoyed that he had assumed it would be that easy. "I'm upset because they shouldn't be. You're not like the rest of them." I glanced at the Cullens so that he would understand. "You're a killer."

He was quiet. I half expected his eyes to change back, but they didn't. I guess he knew that this was how I preferred him, whether or not his appearance was a lie. Finally, he took a deep breath.

"The others, with the yellow eyes. They don't feed?"

"Not on humans." I waited.

"And this is what you're asking of me?"

"Yes," I whispered. My voice had shaken so violently to say such a simple word. I could feel the tears that were already coming. Because even though he had asked me so politely, even though the faces of the others were so hopeful, I understood the true meaning of his expression perfectly.

"They hunt animals." It wasn't a question. His eyes broke away from mine for the first time as he scanned the faces of the Cullens. For a moment I actually believed he was considering. For a moment I felt hope. But then he looked down at his feet instead of at me, and I took that as an expression of his defeat. He knew he couldn't please me. "I'm sorry," he muttered softly. He reached for me, pulling me by my waist until our bodies were touching, then tilted my face toward his again. He held it there, staring into my eyes as though he could do what Renesmee could do – as though he was trying to show me what I needed to see to understand.

All I saw was him. In that moment, I was hit by the most devastating combination of emotions – embarrassment, resentment, shame. Because just the sight of him staring down at me, completely captivated by me, offered me the pointless opportunity to see what we could be, if only one of us would bend. I wanted it so badly. I wanted to be in love with someone who loved me back with the same mind blowing level of affection. I wanted to know for sure that I was with the one I had been destined for. Though I could see nothing beyond his immortal face that could make me accept his choice, for a split second, his face was enough. Just knowing that he was real and that he was meant to be mine – that _someone_ was meant to be mine – was enough. But in the other half of the second I realized that just like I was staring at him right now, he was staring at me. And unlike mine almost had, his decision had not wavered.

He had to realize that if he couldn't change, we couldn't be together. Would he really give me up this way? With eight once bloodthirsty vampires and a half-human girl surrounding us as evidence that the choice I asked of him was not impossible?

Wasn't there anyone who would love me enough to chose _me_?

"Do you love me?" I asked. I felt stupid. It felt as though we had skipped a thousand steps and this question was early and inappropriate. We hadn't spent any real time together – the time we'd spent here negotiating didn't count. It had been a mere 24 hours since I first laid eyes on him, and I had been aware of his name for a matter of minutes. Besides all that, I didn't _know _him. All I knew was that he was a vampire, he was a bad one that fed from humans, and for some reason that not even Carlisle could understand, he could apparently manipulate himself to look any way he wanted. He didn't know me either, I realized. I wondered what he would come up with if he tried to list my traits.

Girl. Five foot seven. Dark skin. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Athletic build. Doesn't seem to wear much clothing. Sometimes looks like a giant dog. Barks at me, in both forms.

Still, I had felt compelled to ask. My rationalizing didn't change the fact that I had imprinted. Even if it made no sense, I had loved him from the moment I'd seen him in the clearing. Red eyes and all.

The feeling had to be mutual, didn't it? That was the nature of imprinting. Still, I began to worry as I waited for his answer.

Trust me to be the one werewolf whose imprint only went the one way.

"I…" he trailed off. His brow furrowed, and for a moment the look in his eyes was far away. Then, "I do. I do love you." I sighed. "But Leah…I can't…" And then the relief was gone. That was all I needed to hear. He didn't care enough.

He would leave me.

"Then I can't," I snapped. I pushed myself out of his arms, not waiting for him to finish, and stomped toward my house. I paused, changing my direction when I remembered that Emily would be over, talking with my mother about wedding arrangements. That was the last thing I needed to walk in on right now. I swiveled on my heel and headed toward my favorite spot on the sand.

Tobias didn't speak. He didn't follow me. That hurt even more than his refusal to change his diet.

"Leah, wait. Just a second." Jake had started toward me, but I picked up my pace.

"No," I yelled behind me. "_You_ talk to him. I'm done."

*~*

**Tobias POV**

"I do," I told her, "I do love you." She seemed to have been holding her breath, awaiting my reply. But now that I had admitted to the emotion that had overtaken me with impossible speed and force, she let the air out of her lungs in a quick huff. Still, her expression was displeased.

I understood. Her question to me was not meant only to establish my feelings for her. In fact, though for a moment she seemed unsure of my answer, her question was really not a question at all. It was a challenge. One I couldn't win.

"But Leah…" Her eyes hardened before I had even finished my sentence. She was giving me a chance. Others might have thought her purpose to intimidate, but already I could read her better than anyone else ever would. She was daring me. Daring me to tell her that human blood was my priority, that I would choose it over her. She was showing me the ramifications of that choice, and giving me a chance to make what she considered the right one. I could agree to this, even if I didn't really mean it. I could try, at least. Could she blame me once I failed if I had _tried? _Or else, I could learn to shield my thoughts from Edward – though he was hearing me now – and pray that my power would protect me from her disapproval.

I considered it, for a very long moment that for her was probably only a fraction of a second. But in the end, I had to make the choice she would have preferred I didn't. I couldn't lie to her. It was better that she knew the truth now than to get her hoping only to let her down. This was my nature. She had to realize that.

"I can't…"

"Then I can't." Though I had wrenched her close to me, hoping to show her the unyielding pull between us, hoping that it would help my case, she broke free from my arms. How bold she was. How much I admired her strength. I had lasted all of twenty seconds away from her in the forest, running back before I even understood what I was running back to. Yet, time and time again, she stole away from my arms. Not because she didn't want me too, but because of some principal she had.

She was so much stronger than me. She wanted me – I knew that. But she was not willing to sacrifice her…actually, now that I thought about it, I wasn't sure what it was that she wasn't willing to give up. Surely she didn't believe I was so unable to control myself that I'd consider feeding on people she _knew_.

I wouldn't dare. Not on her family, her friends. Her life here was safe. These wolves, the Quileute tribe, the entire state if she wished. Anyone who had touched her life would be off limits; she had to know that.

I looked up, hoping to find her eyes, but instead found that she was halfway across the beach. Watching her stomp off like an angry child was suddenly amusing to me, and I couldn't help a low chuckle. Barely able to hear the sound of my own voice, I doubted she had heard me laugh. Just then one of the wolves cleared his throat.

I turned my head in his direction. He was shaking his head at me, his expression a mixture of amusement and disapproval. Understanding his meaning at once, I wiped the smile quickly from my face.

"Some advice?" He didn't wait for my reply before he continued under his breath. "Sometimes she gets real quiet. She keeps her face calm, but she stays distant. That's bad. That's the prelude to a good cussing out, so if you see that? Well…take cover." Another wolf snickered. I didn't like being told how to talk to her. Still, this description fit nicely with what I knew to be her character, so I nodded. Another wolf turned to me.

"No nicknames. Especially not – "

"Don't even say it," Sam snapped.

"Never mind. Just no nicknames." I nodded again.

"By the way," Edward said, "she isn't worried about you hunting here, or rather, that isn't her primary concern. Protecting humans from vampires is the reason Leah changes into a wolf. Preventing us from feeding the traditional way is her _job_. We" – he gestured to the other yellow-eyed vampires – "have established an alliance with the Quileutes. But only because we don't harm humans. So…you might want to re-think that speech before you follow her…she won't be any less sensitive to the humans in Canada."

"Why would you help me?" I asked. "If my way of life offends you," I gestured to the vampires, "and I am your enemy," I faced the wolves, "then why tolerate me? With your numbers I could be easily eliminated."

"We don't have a choice." A large wolf stepped forward. Edward murmured something to him. "Oh." He spoke under his breath, acknowledging Edward. "I'm Jacob, by the way. Um, like I was saying, we can't hurt you. I mean…we _can, _but it would kill Leah. That doesn't mean you can do whatever you want, though. If we need to take you out of the picture temporarily – "

"Jacob," Sam cautioned.

"Okay, okay. Basically, it would be better for everyone if you two worked it out."

I was still a bit unclear, but I knew enough. The wolves wouldn't hurt me if I didn't provoke them, as it would hurt one of their own. It seemed a shaky truce, but it would do for now.

I turned away from the rest to find my way back to Leah. My throat felt dry and achy. Perhaps before I went to her…

"Ahem…" A sort of squeaky voice interrupted my thoughts. I turned to find the smallest vampire, a female with spiky black hair, grinning at me. Slowly, she began to shake her head. "Don't even think about it, not on our land. I'm Alice, by the way. If you try anything slick," she tapped her temple, "I'll see you."

Without acknowledging her, I ran off to find Leah, all the while thinking of the strange, yellow eyed coven. I wasn't entirely sure what Alice's cryptic warning had meant, but it definitely indicated she had some extra power. And if she had _seen_ me, then that meant she couldn't have been responsible for a third power in the group. But if I wasn't mistaken, there had to have been another power at work, especially when Leah and I had been talking. I felt…not calm…but like I was _being_ calmed. I shook my head, trying to keep my focus. Leah was sitting on the shore with only her toes in the water. I would have to come up with an opening line soon…

But what _were_ so many powerful vampires doing grouped together like that? It just didn't make sense. They obviously weren't coming together to claim hunting territory – they didn't hunt! Or…well…not like the rest of us, I suppose. I was surprised that the lot of them hadn't joined the Volturi. Or overthrown them, for that matter. They probably wouldn't lose too many if they tried. They _were_ perfectly paired though, with the exception of the younger girl. Is that why they didn't try? For fear of losing mates? _Enough. Focus. _

I walked slowly toward Leah, trying to see her face though she was turned slightly away from me. She heard my approach, and her head seemed to involuntarily angle toward me – like a flower toward the sun. That was when I saw the tears on her face.

I flashed to my knees beside her, ready to beg. How could I have hurt her in this way – in _any_ way?

"Leah," I tried. But she quickly shoved me away with both her hands. Having been crouched down before she struck me, I tumbled over and landed in the water with a _splash. _I looked at her, expecting to see a look of disgust painted on her face, but what I did find surprised me. She was smiling. No, laughing. She curled her lips inward, clearly trying to stifle her giggles, but there was no doubt that she was on the verge of hysterics.

"You're wet," she said, holding out her had to pull me upright. I didn't need her hand, but I smiled and took it anyway. She continued to chuckle as she appraised me, noting my wet clothes and my dripping hair. There was sand smeared across one pant leg, and she quickly brushed it off, still snickering. I couldn't help laughing too. The sound that our laughter made together was musical. It felt so good, so natural.

As if our laughter had brought me some instant clarity, I resolved myself to please her. I didn't want to change, but I wanted this. I wanted her. Us.

"Leah." She smirked up at me, but something in my expression told her that I was serious and her smile slowly faded. "I can't promise you anything but that I'll try. I _will _try."

She started to smile at me. Her posture was slowly relaxing. But then she stopped herself. I saw the barely perceptible progress in her body language rescind and she scooted about a half inch away from me, creating a slightly larger gap between us. Her brow furrowed. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath, and I suddenly feared that I was not the only one who had been thinking hard during our short separation.

What if she didn't want me anymore?

I decided that if that was the case, then I would experience as much of her as possible while I still could. I stared at her while she gathered her thoughts, memorizing the lines of her face, the planes of her cheekbones, the curve of her jaw. I counted her eyelashes, which brushed against her cheekbones when she blinked, distracting me from my count – was such a thing even possible? – and forcing me to focus, once again, on her face. She opened her mouth to speak. Finally, in one last stubborn attempt to show her that I was here to stay, even if she ordered me away and I had to stay with her from afar, I shuffled in my seat (as if I was uncomfortable), closing the half inch of space that she had created with her scoot. She eyed me suspiciously, half smiling. She wasn't fooled, but she didn't move away, either. Perhaps there was hope for me, yet.

*~*

**Leah POV**

I had so many questions for him. Chief among them, was he telling me the truth? Or was he only agreeing to try and abstain from human blood because of my anger at him? Or my tears. Though the idea that somebody cared enough to want to do something about my pain did help to alleviate it, even slightly, with Tobias it worried me. Was he only _saying_ he would try to appease me? Would he change his mind once my mood had improved? Or worse, would he only pretend that he was resisting? Had he already determined that his power would help him to fool me?

I tried to remember Edward's words at the bonfire. But after having a few moments alone to think, his words weren't comforting me the way they had before. Members of both his family and mine had found ways to hide their thoughts from him, even if only for short periods of time. Seth had almost mastered it, and he didn't even have the perfect recall to help his progress. He was prone to making mistakes, or forgetting which techniques had gotten success in the past and which hadn't.

I was willing to bet that Tobias would not succumb to those mistakes.

I sighed heavily, ready to voice my concerns to my…to Tobias. It felt so tempting to think of him as _my_ something. _My_ mate, or _my_ boyfriend. But the reality was that there was a contract to be signed between us, the terms of which had yet to be agreed upon. The reality was that he wasn't _my_ anything. _Yet_, I stubbornly thought. I could hope, couldn't I?

I was not the only one being stubborn. It must have been obvious on my face and in my body language that I wasn't going to be instantly won over just because he claimed he'd "try". I had made a point of putting some extra distance between us while I gathered my thoughts, aware of the affect that his close proximity might have on the clarity of my thought process.

He'd inched right back toward me when I'd inched away, a look on his face that dared me to defy him. Rather than being annoyed, I sort of liked that he'd challenged me. He reminded me of myself, in a way.

I took a deep breath. My thoughts were finally in order and I was ready to voice my concerns. Before I could say a single word, though, Carlisle appeared next to us with two small vials in his hands. Tobias hadn't noticed him. That amazing fact alone had put me a little on edge. So when Carlisle cleared his throat to announce his arrival, and Tobias grunted audibly – I guess he was annoyed that our conversation had been delayed – I couldn't help but let a hysterical giggle escape. Tobias didn't seem moved by it, but Carlisle eyed me oddly before turning his attention back to the two of us. And it _was_ odd. That was my second giggle fit in only a few short minutes.

Ugh! It felt a little vain to think about it, but I sort of prided myself on my…well…on the apparent lack of humor in my personality. On the way it almost forced people to address me a certain way, to take me seriously. And now look at me. Having giggle fits.

I shook my head at myself. _Damn vampire, _I thought. _He has me going soft._

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Carlisle said, "but I really do need those samples. We need to know if you" – Carlisle gestured toward me – "are immune to vampire venom or not. For…" he cleared his throat, "well…for precautionary reasons, at the very least." My mind wandered a little as I thought of the other reasons this might prove important. Especially if Tobias kept his word. _So we could kiss…_ "Also," I whipped my head back in Carlisle's direction, afraid that I had been caught daydreaming. "I'd like to ask Tobias a few questions about his past." He looked only at Tobias now. "Your extra power is very unusual and quite fascinating to me. I'm wondering how it could be possible."

"I'm concerned as well," Tobias spoke slowly and deliberately. The change in his demeanor was distinct, as though someone had flipped a switch. A minute ago he had been so silly with me – so carefree. I felt myself blush, my cheeks warm with pride. He was different with me, I realized. I tried to focus on his words rather than the exquisite shapes his lips took while he spoke them, lest I begin daydreaming again. "Edward was right about his guess while I was changed. It was the first time I had done it…er…" Tobias inclined his head, as though encouraging Carlisle to finish his sentence for him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Carlisle. We've been so rude. I'll make sure to have my family formally introduce themselves later on, when you and Leah are through."

"Me too," I quipped, feeling a little rude myself.

"May I ask," Carlisle continued, "what you were thinking of before you transformed with Edward and his brothers? And then later, with your eyes?"

He was quiet for a long time, looking thoughtful.

"The first time, I was sure I was being captured. Taken…somewhere." I tried to muffle my giggle with a fake cough. Had he just omitted his vampire mafia theory for Carlisle? Tobias eyed me suspiciously, but kept going. "I thought of escaping. It seemed impossible with the three of them grabbing onto every limb. I wished I was smaller, and that I could move more elusively." Carlisle nodded. Neither of us interrupted, too caught up in Tobias' story. "Then, with my eyes. Well, Leah complained about them first thing. The criticism stung, and I wished more than anything to look the way she would have preferred."

"Your eyes are still gold," I told him, in case he couldn't tell. "Is that why?"

"Isn't this the way you prefer me?" The tone of his voice had shifted slightly. His voice was honey, now, and I knew that the extra touch was just for me.

"Yes," I smiled a little, pleased that he didn't seem insulted by my preference.

"Then yes," he whispered. I felt the heat rising to my face. Again, Carlisle cleared his throat. This was getting embarrassing.

"So it appears that you have the ability to make yourself look…any way you want. It's only that the changes that you make should be impossible for a vampire, as Bella mentioned earlier." Carlisle glanced thoughtfully back at the bonfire for a moment. "Our younger one back there is Renesmee. She is only just going on three years old, though she looks much older."

"Three years since she was created?" Tobias asked.

"No, no. Since she was born. Bella, Edward's mate, carried her as a human. She is Edward and Bella's biological daughter. Half human, half vampire. It's rare, but possible. I'm wondering if…well, you see, if you and Leah prove to be successful, then children could be possible." I blushed at the thought. _Children_. "The child of such a union could inherit the gene that allows Leah to change into a wolf. The vampire aspects of the child's DNA, however, might enhance that power, into something like what you seem to possess. I'm wondering if you could be the child of a similar union." But Tobias was shaking his head.

"I don't think so. I wasn't born. I mean, I _was_ born, but I was born a human. I was changed about 20 years or so into my human life." Carlisle's expression changed.

"About?"

"Where I was changed, the means of keeping track of time were not so precise. I lived there for quite some time before I was changed. I stayed there until I was able to control my urges for human blood."

Carlisle nodded.

"And what about the vampire that created you? Was he a shape shifter as well?" Tobias looked thoughtful now.

"I'm not sure. We stayed together for a few years, but then I decided to go my own way. To leave the island."

"The island?"

"Yes. Somewhere off the coast of Brazil." Carlisle's face lit up like Christmas.

"And your creator, he wanted to stay on this island? He had something keeping him there?"

"It seemed like it. But he never told me what and I never asked. His name is Cyrus, if it helps."

"It does, thank you. I'll look into it."

With that, Carlisle handed Tobias his vial, and I watched as he placed the vial to each of his teeth, letting his venom drip inside. Carlisle bent down to me, connecting my vial to a syringe, and took a small amount of blood from the inside of my arm. I never liked having my blood taken, but the vials were made of steel. It made it easier when I didn't have to watch the blood pool. When he was finished, Carlisle raced right past the bonfire. I imagined he was off to his house to conduct his science experiment.

"Can I ask you my own question?" Tobias looked up at me, surprised.

"Of course you can. Ask me anything."

"Who named you Tobias?" His expression was shocked.

"My parents, of course." His expression changed, the shock replaced by a wicked grin. "Who named you Leah?" I frowned. His grin disappeared. "Is there something wrong with my name?"

"Not _wrong_. It's just so…I don't know…" I trailed off. I started to feel bad for picking at him. He hadn't once complained about me.

"I _was_ born in the 18th century, Leah. I can't help it if my name isn't modern." I smiled. He still had the same playful tone he'd used to joke about my name. "You can nickname me if you want."

I thought about that. Nicknames had been a forbidden territory for me for a long time. But as I thought about old nicknames, and Sam and Emily, I realized that I didn't really care about those things anymore. They didn't seem to have any bearing on Tobias and me.

I weighed some nicknames for a while, while Tobias stared at me, clearly amused. Finally I had narrowed my selection down to T-Bone and Toby. The decision wasn't difficult.

"You can be Toby," I told him. He laughed once. The laugh almost resembled a bark, kind of like mine sometimes did. It was nice that we were so alike. At least, in the very basic ways.

"And what about you, Leah? What will your nickname be?"

"Why do I need a nickname? My name isn't 300 years old –" He raised an eyebrow. "_And_ out of style!" I challenged. But his face looked so…I don't know. Something about the way he looked – like he was having fun. Like he really wanted his own name for me. So I asked him, "Fine, what names were you thinking?"

"Perhaps Princess. Like Princess Leah." I cringed.

"Corny!" I smacked his arm. He chuckled.

"Hmmm…what else can we make from your four letter name? What about Lee Lee?"

I waited. I had expected my heart to lurch and burn with pain, but nothing happened. I remembered how it felt when I used to hear that nickname. I remembered, and yet it felt so distant that it was like recalling something that had happened to someone else. The name sounded brand new on his lips, all offensive and painful associations gone. "No, that doesn't really shorten anything, does it? We need one syllable – I know! I'll simply call you Love. From now on, that will be your name."

"But…" I searched for an excuse. It wasn't fair for me to think it. I had asked him earlier and he'd told me, yes – he loved me. Still, I couldn't stop the thought from escaping. _Were we there yet?_ I was afraid that if I told him my real concern, he would sway my decision and I would end up with this gorgeous vampire calling me _love_ on a daily basis. No, no. I couldn't agree to that. If nothing else, it would shift things in his favor far too much when it came to winning arguments.

So I did something that was classically female. I clutched at the most feeble excuse I could muster and desperately hoped it would fly. "But…I think that nickname is already taken." He made a face at me. The face alone broke my resolve a little, causing me to smirk. He obviously wasn't planning to let me off easy. "I've heard Edward call Bella that before. And Nessie too, actually. I think that's kind of _his_ pet name."

Tobias inched closer to me, until our noses were almost touching. I knew what would come next if we stayed this close. I knew, and yet I couldn't find the strength to move away.

"I think…" – leaning closer still, he brushed his nose against mine – "Edward will just have to learn to share." I heard the sound of my own breathing get louder. My heart was beating faster, pounding loudly in my ears. Toby – oh yes, _much_ better – was smirking at me. As though he knew what he was doing to me and was pleased with himself. Still, not even that was helping my resolve.

"We still have things to talk about." I said it out loud, more for my own benefit than for his.

"I'm aware of that," he whispered softly. His breath blew sweetly onto my mouth. I licked my lips, which for some reason instantly caused my eyes to get stuck on his.

"We aren't ready to be together this way."

"Our bodies seem to disagree." Damn him. Damn him and his sexy responses. He had probably had centuries to practice them.

That thought sobered me a little.

"You're quite the ladies man, huh?"

He chuckled. He moved back only slightly, to look me in the eye.

"Trust me, Leah. No one has had my heart before, _or_ my body." He leaned past my face now. Our cheeks were touching as his lips came to my ear. "You will be the first to have them both."

I hesitated. Could I be doing this? Could this be happening so soon? We hadn't worked out all of our issues yet. We shouldn't be getting involved this way. No matter how good he looked or how good he smelled or…_damn_…how amazing it felt when his teeth grazed my ear lobe like that. "Please, Leah?" he purred. "I promise not to let you down. Please don't make me wait any longer." He nudged my face with his nose, willing me to turn my face toward him.

And just like it had happened in my dream, I found myself unable to deny him anything. I turned my head toward him, and he took the movement as an invitation. He brought his lips to mine, and with that final contact, I lost even the loose hold I'd previously had on my capacity for reason.

I was officially out of excuses.

**Aurelia POV**

42nd street, Times Square. The train stopped, and I stood and walked through the subway doors. I stayed at least three people behind Mark as he started toward the stairs. He had left work early today in order to meet me for dinner. We had a reservation at The Russian Tea Room. I'd had every intention of keeping that reservation with him earlier this morning. I had planned to sit across from him at the table, quickly swiping my fork through my caviar to make it look like I was eating. From across the table I would choose the right moments to make eye contact. I would hold his gaze until I heard his heartbeat accelerating. Getting him into my apartment would be easy.

I was careful when I hunted. Here in the city, though, it was easy to kill and make it look like an accident. Easy for anyone, let alone someone who had a century's worth of experience. I was extra careful, however, when I interacted with my prey the way I'd chosen to with Mark. To Mark, my name was Arielle. I was a thin redhead with brown eyes. I didn't have a last name as far as he was concerned. I lived in a modest brownstone in Harlem, and I was an artist who usually worked from home.

The brownstone in Harlem was convenient. Rented under the name Arielle Brown, the tiny accommodations suited my needs when I needed to "entertain" any guests. I made sure I was seen leaving there every morning and arriving every night. I also made sure I was not seen when I returned to my real residence after playing my role.

I lived in a lavish penthouse on the upper east side. The furnishing was very old fashioned – I liked to tell people that the furniture came with the place, so I kept it, even though it wasn't really my style. In truth, of course, it was exactly my taste. It reeked of a time that no one should still be alive to tell of.

Of course, a few of us were…

When the wig came off and I traded my brown contacts for blue ones, I was Aurelia Devereaux. If the police ever tracked my activities back to the apartment I had acquired under my alias, they would never trace it back to _me_. The common name would not raise any eyebrows. The almost plain picture of the women with the badly colored red hair, brown eyes and very unflattering makeup would not raise any supernatural suspicions. Even if I got sloppy – and I didn't – the Volturi would have no reason to bother me.

Still, I was thorough. I "dated" very wealthy men under my alias. Even as myself, occasionally, as they couldn't help but approach me – I guess it's true what they say about that thing they have for blondes. I made sure I raised enough money each month to keep myself living in style. Because it would be too conspicuous to kill all the wealthy men in New York City, I usually just kept the dating pattern going and let them all believe I was their young mistress.

The problem was, such regular interactions with humans in the same place I was feeding could have upset the Volturi.

That's why I checked every day.

My visions were easy to have. All I had to do was imagine who, what, or where I wanted to see, and I did. This morning I'd closed my eyes and looked for Aro. I was only looking for the Volturi agenda, to make sure I wasn't on it. To my horror, I had seen Aro alone, on a plane to New York.

I immediately changed my plans. I still had to eat; letting Mark go was out of the question. But I wouldn't go through with the charade of sitting in a public place with him and pretending to be human, a situation where exposure could be possible, when Aro was already on his way here.

Mark walked into a corner Deli. I lingered on the street corner, pretending to examine the street signs and look lost, while he picked out some red roses.

I smelled the other vampire's approach behind me immediately.

"Hello, Aurelia. Might I have a word?"

I turned around at human speed and found myself face to face with Aro. This was less than ideal. Most vampires didn't ever see members of the Volturi without dying soon after.

"Hello, Aro." If I had been human, my heart would have been pounding out of my chest. My cheeks would have been on fire. I searched his face for disapproval, but he only beamed at me. Still, without moving, breathing, or asking any questions, I waited.

"I would like you to come with me. Your power is very valuable and will be of great use to me in the coming months. The choice, of course, is yours. However, your feeding and living habits here are dangerous. If you refuse, I'll be forced to make a note of them the next time I speak with my brothers. The trip to New York will be tiresome, but Jane _would_ be so delighted to meet you."

I didn't bother speaking. I nodded once and waited for my cue to follow him wherever it was that we were to go. He swiftly hailed a taxi and asked the driver to take us straight to LaGuardia Airport.

I closed my eyes, trying to see what he needed me for, but it was a wasted effort. He had said _in the coming months_. I could only see the present, not the future or the past. I was about to pull out my purse to check that I had my passport and necessary papers with me, when Aro shocked me by dropping a manila envelope on my lap. He looked at me pointedly.

I opened it. All my things were inside, as well as two receipts. The rent had been paid on both my places for ten years.

"I'm very interested in how this power of yours works, Aurelia."

"May I…" I whispered, almost too low for _me_ to hear.

"There is nothing to fear, dear Aurelia. Speak your mind, if you wish."

I cleared my throat, more out of habit than necessity.

"May I just ask what it is that you want me for?"

"Well, I'm hoping that you'll join the guard, of course. I would never force you, but you could stay with us on a temporary basis. After a…trial period…the decision would be yours."

"You're anticipating going into battle quite soon, then?"

"Why, no. No, dear. Don't even think of it." He paused and looked out the window, as though reacting to his own words. When he looked at me again his expression was severe. I nearly jumped out of my seat. "I'm afraid I mean that literally. Don't think of it, not even for a minute. You may, however, share my focus for the time being. I've decided to recruit the most powerful vampires that I can find, giving them all the option to eventually join the guard if they wish.

"As of now, that's all I've decided. Now, let us see if you know anyone whose abilities might be of use to me as well." He took my hand in his. At first I thought nothing was happening, but when I thought of seeing what he saw, I realized that he was reading my thoughts. All of them.

I immediately felt guilty. I had very few friends, but now I had dragged them all into this mess with me. Even though Aro liked to talk about _choice, _it was clear that the only real options on the table were – A) Do what he said, or, B) Die.

"Excellent," Aro said, more to himself than to me. "Let us go and visit Dorian first. We will need him if we have any hope of getting Lavinia to join."

I nodded, afraid to say another word. The drive was rather slow, though to most humans it would appear that we were moving quickly. Aro busied himself with conference calls to the rest of the Volturi – which I pretended not to hear – and cancelling the flight back to Italy. I listened regretfully as he booked two first class seats on a flight to Portland.

I spent the rest of the ride staring out the window, wondering why in the world Aro thought he'd need Dorian's power of persuasion.


	5. Chapter 5 Wedding Bells

**Disclaimer: **All publically recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Wedding Bells**

**Leah POV**

I stood in the kitchen, rinsing out a glass to pour myself more water. I filled the glass and took a slow sip, then put it down again and walked toward the freezer to get myself some ice. I smiled a little to myself when I realized the most likely reason that the water wasn't cold enough for me.

I was developing a tolerance for cold things.

The house was empty, as it usually was nowadays. Seth had probably stayed at Olivia's last night, and my mom had probably stayed at Charlie's. I didn't like being alone in the house, and had thought about asking Tobias to stay. But it was too dangerous. My mom's scent was pure human – the scent he had almost hunted before. Even though he assured me that he was in control of himself, I wasn't taking any chances. Especially not with my mother.

As a result of Tobias not being allowed to come back to my place, I had stayed out with him pretty late after running back home to put on some real clothes. Underwear and bra, tank top and sweats – it was simple, but it beat walking around naked but for an oversized t-shirt. It had been three in the morning when he finally threatened to take me home himself if I didn't go and get some rest. When I reminded him that he couldn't come inside he proposed dropping me through my window and onto my bed. I almost let him do it, but I was afraid that if we got all the way to my bed I would be tempted to let him stay the night, so I left him on the beach and walked back to my house.

He was at the Cullen's house now. He had called about fifteen minutes ago asking if I wanted anything for breakfast. I asked if he would like to come down to the beach – we could light a fire and make something together. But before he could respond, the phone beeped. When I clicked over to the other line, my mom told me she'd be home in a half hour, so I clicked back over and told him we could do lunch.

It was ridiculous – we had just gotten off the phone a few minutes ago, and before that we had spent the entire day (_and_ night) talking…and…not talking. _Sigh._ Still, I wanted to call him back right now. As if on cue, the phone rang. I picked it up before the first ring was over.

"Hi," I said, turning the word into a sing-song. "I was just about to call you."

"Really?" But the voice that answered me was not Toby's. I took a quick glance at the ancient caller ID. Whoops. Definitely not Toby.

"Yeah," I lied, trying to sound convincing. "I was actually just thinking of you. How is everything, Em?"

"Awww, I'm doing okay, honey. I'm so glad I caught you, I was afraid you would be out."

"No, no. I'm here. What's up?"

"Well, remember when Sam and I set our date?" I did remember. Up until a couple of days ago, I had been dreading the arrival of fall. "You there, Lee?"

"Sorry, Emily. I'm here, I was just trying to remember. End of October, right?"

"Yes, the 26th. That was the date we set. But this morning Aunt Sue called and convinced me to move the date up."

"To when?" She hesitated. "Emily, I know it's been weird, but I'm okay with it now. Truly okay. You can tell me."

"We moved it to the 26th…of August."I gasped. I nearly broke my neck when I whipped around, my eyes frantically searching for the calendar. It was August 12th. She'd moved the wedding up two months – that was _two weeks _from today_._

"Two weeks! How are we going to get everything together in two weeks?! We need to hire a caterer, we need to get these bridesmaids' dresses made – oh my gosh! Em, what about _your _dress?! Is there time?" The line was silent. "Emily?"

"Wow, Leah. You really are okay with everything. I was secretly worried that you'd be furious if it happened so fast. But you really are happy for us now, aren't you_?" _Her voice broke twice and I suddenly felt a little choked up myself. Emily had been like my sister before – before Sam. And this was probably the first conversation we'd had in years where I wasn't just trying to get it over with.

How many times had I gone out and fought without knowing if I would come back? If Jacob hadn't saved me in the fight with the newborns – and almost gotten killed _himself_ in the process – I wouldn't have made it. Just yesterday, if I hadn't been a freak of nature – or possibly if Edward hadn't lost his venom, but I seriously doubted that – I wouldn't be here right now. I wouldn't have ever had the opportunity to make things right between Emily and me. And after all, what happened wasn't her fault.

I shook my head. Sometimes I could be such a raging bitch.

"Emily, look. I've been a jerk, and I'm sorry. I'm really sorry you were afraid to tell me that the most important day of your life is happening even sooner. But I'm really glad you decided to include me back when I _was_ being dumb, so now that I'm _not…_" I trailed off, my sentence getting buried under her giggles. "Wanna do something today? You can come over and we can have one of our talks, like before. You can tell me why you decided to move up the date and we can make some wedding plans."

She sighed.

"That sounds great, Leah. I've really missed you. I have to call Sam now. I haven't exactly cleared this with him yet."

"Emily!" I scolded, playfully.

"Hey! It was very last minute. Besides, I had to get a weather forecast before any of the wolves made up their minds to be there. Sunny and clear! How often does that happen around here, even in the summer?!"

"Did you seriously ask Alice what the weather would be like on your wedding day?"

"Well…I wasn't exactly the one who asked her."

"What do you mean?"

"Uh oh. Let me call you back, Sam just walked in." While she waited for my reply I could hear Sam in the background. _Babe? What's all this fabric stuff all over the living room? Don't tell me you phased._

I laughed. I actually laughed. The relief of finally being able to feel happy for my cousin, who had once been like a sister to me (and I was anxious for things to be like that again), was the best feeling I had felt in a long time. I hadn't noticed it before – the strain that being mad at the world 24/7 was putting on me. But with this one small thing, this phone call, it felt like I had finally exhaled after holding my breath for years.

"Call me back, Emily. Good luck." I put the phone down on the counter and opened the fridge. I was suddenly starving and hoped I would have breakfast options other than cereal. Just then the front door opened. I spoke without turning around. "Mom, do we have anything in this fridge besides fruit and milk?"

"How did you know it was me? It could have been Seth."

Jokingly, I sniffed. "Heightened sense of smell."

She sighed, "I forget these things, you know. And no, you and Seth are never home anymore so I haven't been food shopping this week. I'm pretty sure that milk is bad. I brought you breakfast, though."

Oh. I sniffed again. Mmmmm, yes she _had_ brought me breakfast. It wasn't diner food, either. It was homemade waffles and eggs that she had wrapped up in a plate for me.

"That smells good. And," – _sniff – _"do I smell strawberries?" She smiled.

"Yes, you do…even though that's sort of scary, Leah. But anyhoo, after I cut them up for your waffles I had a bunch left over, so I made you a smoothie. Remember when I used to make you those?"

Now I was suspicious. I did remember. When I was little I got them for being good. But as I got older, I got them when _she_ had been bad. When my favorite shirt got destroyed in the wash. When she accidentally threw out my art project (okay, so I wasn't the best artist, but the clay had _sort of_ looked like a turtle, and I hadn't been completely finished, anyway). That time when she lent Seth the digital camera it had taken me a year to save for, and he lost it. Suddenly I had a sinking feeling in my chest. What had she done this time?

"Mom? Do you have something you'd like to tell me?" She blushed. Oh, no. I hadn't wanted to be right about this. I started doing a mental inventory of all the things I prized, wondering which one of them I'd never see again.

"Leah, maybe you should sit." I stared at her. Maybe I should sit? A strawberry smoothie _and_ maybe I should sit? What on earth had she done?!

I sat.

"Okay, now don't laugh." Hmmm…she hadn't said, 'don't cry'. So maybe she _hadn't _given my laptop away, then? "Okay, last night I was over at Charlie's. I fixed him a nice romantic dinner. He was acting a little strange, offering to help with the meal, to do the dishes. Things like that. After we cleared the table I went to the bathroom to freshen up. When I came back, there was a small, velvet box left open on the table." My eyes immediately flickered to her left hand. How had I not seen it before? There on her fourth finger was a modest, but nevertheless stunning, engagement ring.

I was speechless.

"Anyway, I accepted of course. And you like Charlie, right?" I nodded. "Just checking. And well, I don't want anything fancy and neither does he and we started talking about a nice simple wedding here on the beach before it got cold. Well, just then the house phone rang and it was Bella calling to congratulate us. I was set on waiting no more than a week, but Alice jumped on the phone and told me it would rain that day. I decided maybe if we waited another week it wouldn't be so bad; there would be time for preparation, at least. Bella was back on the phone by then – apparently Alice approved the date and she's going to do most of the planning for us. Something tells me it's going to end up being a lot fancier than what I was thinking originally.

"Anyway, we went over some basic themes and set our first meeting to talk about the details, and then _she _made a suggestion that was just…" – her eyes flickered to the floor, then back to me. She seemed suddenly shy – "well about a week ago I would have said absolutely not, but now I figured…" she trailed off. Ugh, I loved her, but I hated it when she did this. _C'mon, mom! _I thought at her. _Spit it out!_ "Well, long story short," – I rolled my eyes. Yeah, right – "I called Emily and – " _Click._ That was the missing piece. I didn't even wait for her to finish the sentence.

"Oh. My. God. Let me guess, you called Emily and decided wouldn't it be cute if you got married together?"

"Yes! Oh honey, how did you know?"

"Emily called."

She frowned. "She told you? But she promised she'd let me tell."

"No, no, Mom!" I rushed, "She told me she moved up _her_ date. I had no idea she moved it up to meet _yours_." She was still pouting. I took a deep breath and tried to make my tone more comforting. "Mom, I promise, I had no idea before you told me. Congratulations." I stood up and walked across the kitchen to hug her. I felt bad that I didn't have more to say, but I was overwhelmed.

This was a good thing, though. Charlie was nice, and my mom was happy. And Charlie had loved and respected my dad enough to know never to try to replace him. It wasn't like some brand new guy was going to come in and feel the need to compete with my real dad. Wow…_dad_. Charlie would be my dad? Okay, technically he would be my _step_dad. It would be a little weird – I couldn't lie to myself about that. But somehow I just had a feeling that everything was going to work out just fine. I could live with this.

"Leah?" My mother squirmed in my arms. "Leah, honey? Ow…" Oh! I let go of her and backed up a few paces. A double wedding. Wow.

"I'm happy for you, mom."

"I'm happy, too! There's so much to do. Well, for Emily. Charlie says we can trust Alice with these things but Emily insists on sticking to her original plans for her dress, at least. Will you mind very much having a fitting with Alice for your dress?"

"But Emily has all my measurements already. Isn't she still making the bridesmaids dresses?"

"No, there's no time. Well, not for _her_ anyway. Alice is going to do it. And yours will be just a little different than the rest, anyway." She smirked. I didn't follow. The bridesmaids dresses were identical. Unless…

No. It couldn't be.

"Why will I have a different dress?" I asked carefully, trying not to let myself hope.

"You're going to be our maid of honor!" Not only was I speechless, this time I was breathless. "And that means you're going to need an escort, but Rachael and Emily _did_ mention you imprinted, so I'm just going to need you to make sure your vampire behaves, at least up until the wedding, because if he seems unstable we can't let him come and then it just won't look right when you come down the aisle by yourself. It'll throw of the whole…fung shey…? Feng…you know that thing – "

"Mom!" I was nearly panting by the time I found the breath to interrupt her. "A lot to take in here, okay? Can I just…can I have a minute?"

"Okay, if you insist. But we do need to go over this, there's a lot we need to think about. I'll be in my room. I – " Her cell phone rang. "Oh, hold on a second." She gestured to me with one finger before answering her phone. "Hello? Alice, hi! Um…no. I don't know how I feel about coral. What about something in a nice, soft peach?" She paused. "Well what _would_ complement their skin tones, then, that isn't coral?"

She disappeared behind her bedroom door and I took the opportunity to escape into my room as well. The shock of the double wedding had instantly taken a backseat to the fact that my mother not only knew about my brand new vampire boyfriend, but was insisting that he attend.

I didn't want to disappoint her. But Tobias had barely been a vegetarian for 24 hours. He hadn't even gone hunting with the Cullens yet, and who knows whether he'd keep it up after that? He had promised me that he would try, but we both knew that there was a chance he wouldn't succeed. It was bad enough I had to take that chance knowing that he'd be constantly hanging around the reservation. Now I was supposed to take that chance with my entire family, our tribe, and everyone we'd ever known and cared about present?

I sat down on my bed and leaned forward to put my head in my hands. This was too much. It seemed so silly to worry over this, like it should be as simple as just telling my mother no, that it was too dangerous. But I remembered how she had been after my dad's heart attack. I remember how she'd been when he died. If it wasn't for Charlie coming over and checking on her, making sure she ate and making sure she smiled once and a while, I'm not sure if she'd even be back to normal _now_, much less blissfully happy.

If I told her no, it wouldn't be simple. She would be upset, and while Charlie might not see the big deal, the rest of the tribe would. The past few days aside, they saw me as a dark cloud. I was always the one to take a happy situation and bring it down a notch, or take a hopeless situation and make it that much worse. I could hear them talking now. _How could you do that to your own family? For once, can you just try to think about someone other than yourself? How would you like it if someone did that to you – because you didn't get married now you can't let anyone have a nice wedding?_ I had gotten a similar speech years ago when I started to refuse to be a bridesmaid at Emily's wedding. The tribe was small and close knit, and being upset for my own reasons was bad enough without everyone in the tribe being upset at me for theirs. So I had agreed.

I frowned. I could feel a tradition in the making.

Just then there was a tap on my window. Before, I would have been negative and told myself not to get my hopes up; I didn't want to be disappointed if it wasn't him. But I didn't need to do any of that now. I only needed to concentrate for a moment and I could feel him behind me before I turned around.

"What's wrong?" he murmured softly. He kept his face calm, but his body was tensed to spring. I answered quickly before he ripped my window out of the wall.

"It's a very long story." I sighed.

"Can I…" he hesitated, then took a deep breath. "Can you come out?"

"Just come on in." I told him. He didn't move, staring me down as though he was waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out. I shrugged. "You might as well. This is something we're both just going to have to start getting used to."

*~*

**Bella POV**

Esme put the grocery bags down on the kitchen counter and slung two giant Hefty bags over the chairs. It was time to restock the fridge. Renesmee was coming along in the food department…sort of. She had no patience for _real_ food, but she was becoming quite fond of certain fruits and Ben & Jerry's ice-cream. Nevertheless, Carlisle and Esme insisted that we continue to fully stock the fridge every two weeks. Renesmee had demonstrated excellent restraint from human blood with Charlie. Once she stopped growing she could start school. Carlisle said that she had the most potential out of all of us to experience human life without limitations, and he was right. Learning to like human food would make it that much easier for her when it was time to infiltrate the human world.

I opened the fridge and immediately caught a whiff of the foulest stench. Another gallon of milk had gone bad before the seal had even been broken. I quickly grabbed one of the Hefty bags and followed my nose, removing anything that smelled _extra _bad. After double checking all of the expiration dates, I tied the offensive black bag as tightly as I could, and pushed it into the trash compactor underneath the counter.

"Ness?" I called. I heard her and Jake out on the property and soon, her footsteps began pattering toward the house.

"Yeah, Mommy?" Her face was flushed and a little dirty. It was clear that she and Jake had been in the middle of one of their epic games of tag. While she waited for my response I couldn't help but look her over. Just three short years ago she hadn't even been a thought in my mind. And now here she was, a teenager. Well…not technically…but physically she looked about thirteen or fourteen. Technically she wasn't even two and a half, and in terms of knowledge and maturity she was older than Jacob. I noted the huge patch of dirt on her t-shirt and the grass stain on her jeans.

Okay…maybe not so mature yet.

"Carlisle and Esme picked up some food." She rolled her eyes. "Hey, what did we talk about?"

"But you know I don't like human food," she whined. "Jake took me north last week and we found a mountain lion! It was so cool, and I told Daddy, and he said they were his favorite too!"

"Mine too," I admitted. But she wasn't getting away with this so easily. "Okay, then. I guess I'll just get rid of the Cherry Garcia – "

"Wait!" She was at my side in a flash, her hand on mine as I pretended to reach for one of the brown bags. "Maybe just the ice-cream can stay." I chuckled.

"There is more to human food than just ice-cream. There's cereal too. Esme got the sweet kinds since you didn't like the Raisin Bran. Oh, and you should let your Aunt Rose make you one of her steaks. Jacob likes them," I added, my tone suggestive. She did smile a little, obviously against her will, but she was still shaking her head, already searching for a spoon. "Fine, then. But you have to at least promise to try one new food this week."

"Sure, sure." I sighed. Jacob rubbed off on her so much. Renesmee didn't realize that she was destined to be with Jacob, and I was in no hurry to tell her. Still, it was obvious that he was her favorite person besides me and her father, and she tended to agree to do or try things if Jacob already did them himself. She easily tore the plastic seal from the lid of the pint and shoved the spoon into the ice-cream. The look on her face when she tasted it reminded me of my human days. "Mmmmm…"

"Nessie?" Jake's voice was coming from the living room. A few more heavy footsteps sounded before he was visible in the kitchen doorway. He spotted the ice-cream in her hands and grinned. "Nice! Wanna share?"

"No!" Her squeal nearly hurt my ears. I glanced around to make sure all of the windows were intact. Jake began searching for his own spoon. "No, Jake!" she whined. "Get your own, this is _my_ one!"

"C'mon, Nessie! I shared that lion!"

"That's not fair, I couldn't kill one on my own. You can open your own ice-cream."

"Actually, I can't. I don't have long fingernails, I'd never get through the seal." He grinned at me and I suppressed a laugh. Renesmee's frown was adorable. But I didn't hide my snicker well enough, and the sight of us both laughing set her off.

"Mommy!" she screeched. That time it did hurt my ears, but I smiled anyway. I just loved the fact that she still called Edward and me Mommy and Daddy, like a normal two and a half year old might.

"Fine, fine." Jake began heading toward the other groceries. "Bells, is there more?" He winked at me, then put on a very injured face as he made a show of peeking into bags.

"I think Esme got a Karamel Sutra, too." Renesmee rushed over to Jacob's side, her face chagrined.

"I'm being selfish, aren't I?" she murmured.

"A little," he shrugged. Renesmee held the pint out to Jacob as a peace offering, gazing up at him from under her lashes. Her expression was just a little too…something…and I felt a little pang in my chest. _Too soon, _the voice in my head screamed. A few more years and she would be gone…

"Thanks, Ness." Jacob's face lit up again. "I won't take a lot, I know this is your favorite."

"Thanks, Jake." Renesmee leaned against his arm, then nuzzled her nose against his shoulder. I eyed Jake suspiciously. They weren't romantic yet, were they? But when he met my eye he looked as surprised as I felt. The pang in my chest attacked again. Still holding my gaze, Jake took a deep breath.

"Ummm, Bella?"

"What's up, Jake?" My voice was a little labored.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you. Well…we…" Renesmee looked at me sheepishly now. Oh, no! They weren't about to announce their engagement, were they? I just waited. "We were online a few weeks ago, and I was showing Ness theme parks." I allowed a deep sigh of relief to escape. "She liked Disney World the best, and I was wondering if you and Edward would mind if we took a little trip there."

"Please, Mom?" _Pang. _I was Mom now? I hoped it was her anxiousness that had caused her to abbreviate. Renesmee's changes, however sudden, tended to be permanent. "I know you're gonna say we should _all_ go. But you guys won't ride the rides with me! You'd just be standing around, pretending to buy cotton candy and stuff. And we'd have to go on a rainy day, anyway, and what if they shut down the park? So I figured, I could go with Jake. I mean…he's safe. And he's my best friend."

Jake blushed. Oh, perfect. The blushing had begun.

"Ummm…" I trailed off. In terms of the theme parks, she did have a point. Aside from Emmett, I didn't see anyone getting pumped about rollercoasters when we moved much, much faster. (I hoped the unimpressive speeds wouldn't disappoint her.) Also, the only Disney parks that I knew of were located in Florida and California. Sun, sun, sunny. Not a good idea for our family, aside from her and Jacob.

On the other hand, though…it would be the two of them. All alone. In a hotel room. And with the vibes I had been picking up in this kitchen within the last ten minutes…

I focused on pulling back my shield and thought deliberately at the one person who could hear me, remembering how Ness had nuzzled against Jake. I didn't need to relay the conversation – surely he'd been listening from upstairs. _What do you think?_ _Should we let them go?_

And then he was in the kitchen.

"Hey, Edward." Jacob picked up a small piece of ice-cream with his spoon and flicked it at him. Edward caught it in his fingers and aimed at Ness, who caught it perfectly in her mouth. "Bella called you down for a parent conference?"

"Something like that." Edward's velvet voice never ceased to dazzle me. I watched, transfixed by his beautiful face and equally mesmerizing body, as he gracefully made his way across the kitchen to close the distance between us. Without speaking, he leaned in close and kissed me on the soft spot behind my ear. Then he turned to face our daughter and our soon-to-be son and law. "Disneyland, huh?"

Ness smiled. "Yeah, or Disney World. I can't decide, they're both…"

"Disney?" Jacob snickered. Renesmee smacked his arm. "Ow. That actually kinda hurt, kid. Looks like you're finally starting to grow into your strength." Jacob was beaming, but Renesmee was scowling at him. Slowly his smile faded. "What?"

"I hate it when you call me 'kid'. I've told you that."

I shot Edward a sideways glance and was relieved to find that he was shooting me the exact same one. Good, then he saw it too. _Well? _I thought, carefully pulling back my shield. _We want her to get out and experience human things. And she's done an excellent job around Charlie and Sue and – _snap. The shield snapped back without my permission. Edward smirked. _Hey, no laughing at me! Anyway – she's been great around Charlie and Sue and the human Quileutes. Don't you agree? _Edward nodded almost imperceptibly. I glanced over at Jacob and Renesmee, but they were focused on the Ben & Jerry's. _It's just this thing with Jacob that has me worried._

"Yes, me too," he whispered, careful to only let me hear him. "But it has to happen sometime, Bella. Carlisle estimates that she'll reach sexual maturity very soon." I whimpered. "Bella, love, we knew this was coming. We prepared ourselves…or…we tried as best we could. And though it's difficult, do you know what comforts me?" I shook my head, not bothering to hide our conversation from anyone now. "That she'll be with Jacob. You know how wonderful he is and he loves her more than anything."

"I know," I whispered. "But…" I pulled back my shield. _But she's only two! Only two years old! Oh Edward, sometimes I wish it wasn't all so fast. It's like she only just got here and I just keep counting down the days until she's gone. _With that he pulled me into an embrace that would have broken every bone in my body when I was human. Actually, I did feel the pressure of the hug much more than I would have when I was first changed. Annoyingly, my newborn days were nearly over.

Now Renesmee and Jacob were staring at us with concern.

"Mom?" I looked up at Renesmee, aware that my face was agonized. I felt the prickling behind my eyes that would have been tears when I was still human. This was probably my least favorite subject to discuss with anyone, and to make matters worse, she had called me 'mom' again. "If it's too soon, I understand. I was just so excited about the rides and stuff but…I get it. I'm sorry I brought it up."

"No, baby," I crooned. "No, don't be sorry. Mommy's sorry. It's just so hard to think of you all grown up like this. But your father and I think it's okay."

"Really?" She actually bounced in her place and I couldn't help but smile again.

"Yes, really," Edward answered for me. "You both can go. But we'll be wanting very regular phone calls since you know Alice can't see either of you."

"Yay!" Ness was jumping up and down now, with Jacob's hands in hers. "C'mon Jake, we need to get packing." Packing?

"Hold on a sec," I said, stopping them both mid-step. "Packing already? When were you two planning to leave?"

"Whoops – small details," Jake chuckled. "Well, if it's okay with you guys, we wanted to go sort of…now. The wedding is in two weeks, but after that people won't really be vacationing. Ness wanted to go during a real tourist season. She might even make some friends."

"Oh, I see. I guess that sounds alright. Edward?"

"Yes, love?"

"Why don't you go make the travel arrangements and book the hotel…wait!" I looked at Renesmee. "But that means you'll be away for your birthday!"

She frowned. "Well…yeah, I know. But we can always do something with the family when I come back. And besides, do you know that they have these special birthday packages? You can do a Disney birthday breakfast, with all the characters there. I mean, that's a little young for me. But you can also have breakfast inside that palace! How cool would that be – like, would you think the inside of that place was actually a _real_ place?"

I sighed. Edward squeezed my hand.

"I'll go up and make the arrangements. Bella, love, would you care to join me?" I figured I might as well, before this afternoon got any more depressing. I held tightly to Edward's hand and went up the stairs with him to our room in the big white house. While he typed, I sat on the gold bed and thought of just how to phrase it when I threatened to kill Jacob if anything I wouldn't approve of happened in that hotel room.

*~*

**Leah POV**

He had come through the window to talk. I had been close to chewing my nails off one by one (which would have been a pity; I had worked so hard to grow them) when he'd gotten my attention. I told him about Sam and Emily. The whole story. He rubbed my knee as I told him about Sam leaving me. Then I told him about my father dying. He'd held me close for that story when a few tears had escaped, even though I'd shoved him away before wiping them quickly. Finally, I explained about the weddings – or double wedding, rather. _Sigh _– and the very uncomfortable position I was being put in.

"But why can't someone from the tribe escort you?" he had asked.

"Everyone else that my mom and Emily both want _in_ the wedding has imprinted, or has a mate. I don't think they want to break the pattern. I mean, think about it. Nothing but happy couples coming down the aisle? The wedding will just reek of true love."

Tobias had smiled, and I had made the mistake of reaching up to touch his perfect lips. I had done it without thinking. I had reached for him the way you might reach out to touch a beautiful sculpture in a fancy museum right before you remembered where you were. But once I had done it, I had known that our conversation was over. At least temporarily. He had leaned in to kiss me, and, as if on cue, I had heard my mother – still on the phone with Alice – close the front door behind her and start her car.

Now, forty minutes later, here we were on my bed. We'd been kissing the entire time – me on top of him, him on top of me, us nipping at each other's skin and tugging on each other's clothes. It was incredible. I was covered everywhere in sweat and both of us were panting. (I was surprised that he was out of breath too. I didn't think he needed to breathe.) It was very, very hard to believe that Tobias wasn't practiced at the fine art of making out. He did it like a pro.

"I don't believe you," I whispered into his neck as he planted sweet kisses on mine.

"Don't believe what?" he breathed.

"You must be more experienced than you were letting on before." He froze. He pulled himself up slowly in order to look me in the eye.

"Leah, I've never had intercourse before. However…I have kissed a woman." He paused. "A few women."

He looked at me; waiting. Oh. It was my turn to speak, then?

I turned my head away from him, concentrating with all my might on turning back time. Just one lousy minute – that's all I needed. This wasn't what I'd wanted to hear. It made sense, but it wasn't what I wanted to hear at all, and now I hated myself for bringing this up rather than letting things continue to be perfect. Now he was hovering awkwardly over me, our bodies uncomfortably close, waiting for me to respond while, instead, I was lying here like a log.

"I…I didn't realize. When you said that no one had ever had your body before, I thought you meant…" I trailed off. He just waited, allowing me to organize my thoughts. "I mean…kissing isn't such a big deal, right?" He shook his head. I wanted to agree with him, except that it _did_ feel like such a big deal to me. "Only kissing? Nothing serious?"

"That depends, I guess. Define serious." My heart sank. Was he kidding? No, I would not define serious. Couldn't he just answer my implied question directly and stop leaving so many holes? Did he really have to make this worse by making me _ask?_

"Never mind," I whispered. "Don't tell me anything. I don't wanna know." He rolled off of me, then propped his head up on his fist. I waited for him to explain the infuriating details of his past to me, anyway.

"You were with someone before me, you know." I hadn't expected him to say _that_. "You were his before I ever knew you would be mine. And when I think about that – about him touching you, kissing you. Making love to you, you calling out his name – "

"Whoa, whoa. No. Sam and I didn't get that far."

"Really? You said you were engaged."

"Yes. But…I was so young when we fell in love. We both thought it was meant to be, and he was older and didn't want to feel like he was pressuring me. I mean, I suggested it a few times, but I think he wanted to wait until after the wedding. He always said that since we had forever, there would be plenty of time." I smiled to myself. That was one of the reasons I had loved Sam so much. He was such a good man in so many ways. But when I looked up at Tobias, he was frowning. "What is it?"

"You're still in love with him," he whispered. "I can see it in your face when you talk about him."

"I'll always love him, of course. But it's a different kind of love…it's nothing like the way I love you." His frown didn't budge. "And what about you?" I pushed him gently. "You and these women?"

"What if we just don't talk about the past; about anybody else. Neither of us. Not about my women or your Sam. What if we just pretend that nothing happened with anyone else before we met each other?"

"Is it that bad that you can't tell me?"

He chuckled, "No, not at all. I just suddenly realized that it really doesn't matter. As far as I'm concerned, my life began when I met you. If I tell you all the details of my past, those women will exist for you. And why should they, when they no longer do for me?" I felt myself smile. "And as far as your past is concerned – no matter what he did to you, I'm sure I can do better."

His eyes were smoldering. A wave of heat shot down my spine.

I forced out a nervous laugh. "Did to me? Toby, I told you. We didn't get very far."

"You mean he never…" he trailed off, just watching me. I waited for him to continue. "You never…" he inclined his head suggestively. Ugh, what was it with people and not finishing their damn sentences?

"Never what?"

"He never gave you an orgasm?"

I sighed. "No. I've never had one." His eyes popped wide open.

"From him, you mean? You never had an orgasm from _Sam_?" His meaning wasn't hard to catch. I didn't want to tell him, but it didn't make sense to lie.

"From anyone. Not even myself." He just stared at me, and for a moment I just wanted to peel back the covers and hide underneath them. I mean, what did he expect, anyway? It's not like I lived alone. My mother and father had always been around, not to mention Seth. And if the thought of getting caught trying to pleasure myself had bothered me _before _Sam, it wasn't helped once I became a wolf. Even in my most frustrating hours, I wouldn't dare try to find some release, knowing that if I did, everyone would know the moment I phased.

When he finally moved, it wasn't to speak. He lifted his head from his fist and scooted forward so that our bodies were almost touching.

He cupped my face in his hand, brushing his thumb along the length of my eyebrow. I felt my breath quicken. Slowly, he allowed his hand to travel down along the curve of my neck and to my collarbone. My heart was pounding furiously against my ribcage as I worried over what would happen next. Was he going to stop there, or would he keep going? He paused briefly at the swell of my breast and checked my face for my reaction. Then, he slid his fingers gently over the curve, flicking my nipple with his thumb as he passed. I gasped. I quickly pulled my eyes away from his hand, embarrassed at my reaction to him. His expression was incredibly smooth – focused. He didn't even meet my eye, and he didn't stop. When his hand slid over my waist and finally reached my hip, he got a good grip on me and pulled me a little closer. A tiny moan escaped my lips as I watched the heat build in his eyes. Finally, staring me straight in the eye, he moved his hand around to my front, gently pulled out the knot on my sweatpants, and froze.

For a long moment, I just lay there and let his fingers tickle the skin beneath my waist band as he waited. Apparently I wasn't reacting fast enough for him. He allowed his hand to journey back up, running along the center of my stomach then cupping my breast. He leaned in to kiss me and sucked my top lip into his mouth in the exact same moment as he squeezed.

"Ungh," I moaned. He continued to kiss me. His kiss was as mesmerizing as ever, but not so much that I did not notice him gently pushing my shirt strap and bra strap off of my shoulder. Abruptly, he broke away from the kiss and leaned down to suck on the skin of my shoulder that was now bare. The sound that I made in response was somewhere between a moan and a cry. By the time he returned his lips to mine my body was hot and aching with need. The ultra sensitive area between my legs was soaking wet, and I couldn't help but angle my hips closer and closer to him as we kissed. After a few moments of kissing and panting, he broke away.

"Well?" he purred. Confused, I pulled away further.

"What do you mean?" I breathed. "Well, what?"

"Do you want one or not?" He didn't have to ask me twice. I plunged back toward him and kissed him deeply, grabbing his wrist and guiding it back toward my waist. He moved to remove my pants so quickly that I didn't see it happen (though I was able to briefly hope that he hadn't torn them to shreds). Eager to feel…something…though I wasn't quite sure what I was looking forward to, I hoped the rest would be as fast, but his fingers moved elusively and painfully slowly, always missing the one spot that I desperately needed him to touch.

"Please," I breathed. Finally I felt his fingers inching toward my center. His fingers trailed down over my panties, then ripped them right off. He touched me softly, so gently that it almost tickled. I started to giggle, but quickly stopped, half afraid to embarrass myself and half afraid to hurt his feelings. I checked his face for reassurance, but he only smiled at me. Suddenly, I felt what I thought was his thumb make a b-line for the most sensitive spot I had and apply a gentle pressure in slow, deliberate circles.

"Fuck," I screamed. Oh, my God, how embarrassing. I tried to inch away from him and lifted my arm to cover my face, but he reached around, cupping my bottom, and held me in place.

"It's okay, love," he whispered. "Just try to relax." He moved closer to my face, then whispered directly into my ear, "I'll take care of you."

A shiver shot down my spine, followed by another one and then another one as he brought his hand back around to my front and continued with his magnificent circles. I briefly hoped that his perfect memory would falter when it came to recalling the horrific faces I was no doubt making right now, writhing beside him as his ice cold hand worked my blazing body toward its very first orgasm.

*~*

**Dorian POV**

It was twelve minutes after midnight. The museum was closed, technically. Aro had called in a favor with one of his elite human contacts. He – whoever he was – had offered to allow us inside until an hour before opening time. Aro, however, had guaranteed that we would only need ten minutes.

"You wait here now, dear." Aro's voice resembled that of a father crooning at a child, but all it would have taken was one look at his face to know that something was off. That he wasn't the father of the child he purred to. When Aro looked at Jane, he looked at her like a car collector might have looked at his very first Aston Martin.

"Master?" she chimed. Of course, that too might have been a tip off to the true nature of their relationship.

"Yes, Jane?"

"Couldn't I come, too? I want to meet Myrna."

"It's important that you stay here where she can't see you. I don't want her to feel threatened. She won't have any real reason to use her power on me, but if she does, it is very important that you turn yours on her. Watch me carefully, Jane. The minute I start to look uncomfortable, I need you to step in." Jane's answering grin was troubling. It was much too obvious that the girl was praying for an excuse to use her power today.

Aro turned to me, "Come, Dorian. I assume you can try and keep the situation calm?"

"Of course." Of course I would try to keep the situation calm. The operative word there being _try_.

Aro overestimated my power. Perhaps because of the charisma I had possessed in my human life, from the moment I was changed I was able to persuade others quite easily. Anything from, 'Perhaps you should wear the sapphire necklace, darling' to, 'Don't be frightened, I won't hurt you. I just want to go somewhere quiet – to talk.' But there were limitations. I couldn't control people's decisions. I could only influence them, and even then, only by a little. The key was to try and influence a decision before the person began considering which direction they wanted to take themselves. The woman who had been planning on the ruby necklace for a month would be much less receptive to my suggestion than the woman who hadn't considered a necklace at all before I spoke. The human who was already planning a way to escape from me would be harder to lure away from a crowd than the human who had barely noticed my presence.

Similarly, _'I'm sure there are far more powerful vampires than myself who would be of much more use to you. My power is not nearly as indispensible as you must think. Surely, you see what I mean,' _had no effect whatsoever on Aro. He had made up his mind to find me and recruit me long before our actual conversation. And now it was my job to help him do the same thing to countless other vampires. Over and over and over again.

I sighed.

Aro reached for my hand as we neared the entrance of the museum. I knew that he was searching my thoughts and was grateful that they would not betray me. Though I didn't fully understand our mission – so I couldn't approve – I had no intentions of sabotaging it either.

"Very wise of you," Aro muttered, releasing my hand and leading the way through the large, double doors.

We walked inside. I looked around at beautiful artwork. The paintings, the tapestries. Some of the art had been painted onto the walls themselves. A few times I wanted to stop, wondering if I recognized a piece or two from my human life. But Aro continued to walk briskly through to the back room, so I followed.

It wasn't your typical museum. It had likely been an old millionaire's home that had been donated after their death. Here in the back room, which looked as though it may have once been used as an office, several statues seemed to have been abandoned, arranged in no particular way. Each were unique and beautiful in their own way, but again I was not able to savor the artwork, as my purpose was to facilitate Aro's first meeting with Myrna. I scanned the room, eager to get this over with, but my eyes found nothing of consequence. There was no vampire back here.

I looked at Aro, ready for him to turn and walk back out into the main hallway, but he seemed suddenly transfixed by one of the sculptures. He circled the statue curiously, then laid his hand against the cheek of the marble woman. The statue moved. The woman's eyes tore away from a high corner on the ceiling to stare directly at Aro. Her hand shot up to tear his away from her cheek. I waited for Aro's reaction, but he didn't move.

"Myrna," I tried. She stiffened, but did not remove her gaze from Aro. She began to appear more and more like a vampire – less and less like stone.

Aro, on the other hand, was not moving an inch.

"Myrna, please." I was beginning to panic now, my voice raised. She was ignoring me completely. Where was Jane? "We aren't here to hurt you. Aro just wants to talk." Aro's pasty white skin began to resemble the statues that surrounded us. His eyes began to glaze over even more in a cloudy white.

She was petrifying him?

Suddenly, Myrna's eyes squeezed shut and she screamed out in pain. She didn't collapse, which surprised me. I had already had the pleasure of experiencing Jane's power for myself when I was recruited in Portland. I was impressed that anyone could endure that kind of pain on their feet.

When I glanced at Aro he appeared to be perfectly normal again. I waited for him to call Jane off of Myrna, or to find some way to punish her himself…or me. Instead, he glared at Jane.

"Jane?" His voice was softer than usual. Reserved. Jane's gaze broke away from Myrna immediately as she met Aro's eye. She didn't speak. "You were late."

"I didn't realize. You are often just as still – "

Aro raised his hand to silence her, then turned to Myrna. "You have a choice," he told her. He pulled a silver lighter out of his pocket and flicked the flame on and off for a few minutes. Myrna's eyes never left his hand. "Or…you can join me." In a flash, Myrna was on her feet.

"I will join you."

"I thought you might say that. Hurry along, we have a plane to catch. Except first, why don't you see how Jane enjoys your power?"

"Master!" Jane shot Aro a pleading glance, which was probably a huge mistake. It only took the split second that she was focused otherwise for Myrna to petrify her until she resembled the rest of the statues in the room exactly.

"If you look away from her," Aro began, "will she stay that way?"

Myrna nodded, "She will be petrified until I change her back."

"Good. Follow me."

When we exited the museum, Aurelia and Alec were waiting for us on the sidewalk. Flawlessly polite, as always, Aro made sure everyone was introduced before explaining that Jane would be spending some time in the museum – to reflect.

"What is Bella Cullen doing?" Everyone seemed confused except Alec, who was looking at Aurelia expectantly. Catching on quickly, she closed her eyes and a faraway look took over her face.

"She's sitting on a bronze haired vampire's lap."

"That's her husband, Edward," Aro explained. "What else?"

"She's watching him as he…it looks like he's purchasing plane tickets."

"How many?"

"Two."

"How odd," Aro mused.

"Indeed," Alec took a step forward, intrigued by the topic of conversation. "They would never leave the girl behind."

"Perhaps the tickets aren't for them. Aurelia, can you see anything else?"

"The tickets have been purchased. Now he – Edward – is searching for hotels. Oh! At Disney World."

Aro smiled. "Focus," he ordered. "I need a date."

"Be careful, master," Alec warned. "She'll see."

"No, no. She won't. Remember? She can't see the girl, or her pet. The only one they would send to Disney World is her, and the only one they'd send her with if they didn't go themselves is that dog. They'll be blind."

"August 14th," Aurelia squealed. "They'll be there for a week." Aro's answering grin was possibly the most terrifying thing I'd seen in my entire existence.

"No they won't."


	6. Chapter 6 Pixie in Law

**Disclaimer: **All publically recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Pixie in Law **

**Leah POV**

"I have a fitting in an hour and a half," I purred. After my long shower, I thought I'd caught Tobias' scent when I came out into the hallway. I made a detour and stopped in the kitchen before coming back to my room – just in case. I didn't want to be too eager if the wonderful aroma was only left over from this morning. But as I opened my bedroom door, it became clear that the trace of Tobias' heavenly smell was way too strong to be left over from earlier. He was definitely here.

But where…?

_Lay your…head on my pillow…_

My gaze flickered to my CD player as _Diary_, by Alicia Keys, began to play. I suddenly remembered that my CD player had come with a remote control. A remote control that Tobias was obvious holding right now.

Where was he?

"Okay, I know you're in here. I can _smell_ you," I teased. I walked toward the bed, ready to peer underneath it. I was half enjoying our little game of hide and seek, but half hoping he'd reveal himself quickly so that we could get on to more important things. I felt a stab of disappointment as I reached the bed, not needing to look underneath it to know that he wasn't there. His smell was fresh, but his familiar pull – the one that all wolves felt toward their imprints – wasn't coming from under the bed. I turned quickly and found him standing behind my door. "There you are," I whispered.

"And here you are." He smirked suggestively at me as he closed the distance between us. I watched him look me over completely with his eyes. Once. Twice. I felt the blood begin to pulse at my core, desperately anticipating the moment when his hands would trace that exact path over my body. "What?" he huffed, as he grabbed one sleeve of my terrycloth robe and held it up as though it insulted him. "No towel?"

I laughed, "I feel more comfortable in a robe. Why, would you prefer me in a towel?"

"I would prefer…" he trailed off, his fingers tracing a path down the collar of my robe. I knew his hand had found the tie when there was a gentle pressure at my lower back and my robe fell open to reveal my bare front. My eyes never left his face, and I had the pleasure of watching his darken as he took in the sight. I waited for his eyes to meet mine. The length of time that it took for his focus to break away from my body and find my face did not upset me. I wasn't worried about him loving any one part of me more than the next. I was secure in knowing that he loved me completely.

_I won't tell_..._your secrets…_

The music seemed to be pulling me forward, closer and closer to Tobias. But I was determined to have some control. At least for a little while…

"What's with the mood music?" I asked.

"It was already in your CD player, so I figured you liked it." Oh. Maybe it wasn't so romantic, then? "Is this too theatrical? I thought it would be a nicer way to surprise you than jumping out and saying 'boo' or something."

"I like it," I admitted. My voice seemed so much softer than usual. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at myself. He was changing me so much.

"No 'boo'?" he teased.

"No 'boo'." He laughed. I watched the way it made his face seem brighter; warmer. The way his blinding smile became even more breathtaking. The way it made his eyes sparkle.

His dark eyes…

They still hadn't lightened? I'd asked him not to use his power for the weeks leading up to the wedding. It would make me more comfortable to know that when his eyes were at their most vibrant gold, it was because he wasn't thirsty. But as I looked closer, I realized that I couldn't find any flecks of gold in his eyes at all. Just black, black, and more black. His face began to change under my glare, his expression becoming worried as he noticed my scrutiny.

"Leah," he started, but I didn't want to hear any excuses. I cut right to the point.

"You haven't gone hunting yet." I said it matter-of-factly. He barely responded, only lowering his chin by half a centimeter, but that was enough of an answer for me. I snatched the remote control out of his hand and jammed my finger down on the STOP button. For a moment, there was nothing but silence. "So that's the true reason behind the surprise visit and the soft music? All so that I won't be pissed off?" My voice was becoming louder and louder, but I didn't care.

"Leah – " He took a step toward me, but I backed away.

"Well, I am! I _am _pissed. Don't you know how much I've been freaking out about the wedding?! I'm risking my mother's life to let you in my house and you're not even trying – "

"Stop!" he yelled. There was a trace of a snarl just barely audible under his voice. A low growl sounded in the back of my throat in response.

As a woman, I didn't appreciate the way he was handling himself in this argument. The fact alone that he had tried to avoid it by preoccupying me with sex was making me want to bite his head off (and not figuratively speaking, either). And now he was adding insult to injury. In addition to raising his voice, he had taken another step toward me, as though he was trying to silence me with his size.

Yes, as a woman I had the urge to bark out a feminist essay at him right now, condemning his behavior. But being insulted by his abuse of my femininity came second to my instincts, and as a werewolf, I didn't really feel like talking. Instead, I was ready to fight. I felt myself beginning to grow hot, my body shaking with both fury and anticipation. It had been over a year since I had phased by accident, unwillingly exploding out of my own skin in order to destroy that which had caused me to lose control. I hated to admit it to myself, but phasing that way felt ten times better than phasing on purpose. The sudden rush of absolute freedom coupled with undeniable purpose was so powerful, so addictive. I would have lost my temper every day if it wouldn't have made me a dangerous, furry mess.

The tremors became worse, and I saw the expression on Tobias' face change. A part of me resented that he looked concerned and not afraid. Was there no limit to his arrogance? Would he still be looking at me, pitying me, when I tore his head right off of his body? But a soft voice in the back of my mind reminded me that it was Toby I stood face to face with. It was him, not just any other vampire. He was _my_ vampire.

Was I mad as hell? Absolutely.

Did I want to kill him?

Absolutely not.

I tried to slow my thinking. I forced the angry thoughts to subside and focused on my human form. He opened his mouth to speak, but I held up my hand.

"Shhhh," I whispered, trying not to sound condescending. "Just let me calm down," I breathed.

"Let me help," he whispered, coming closer. I shook my head as he continued to walk toward me. He didn't understand. It was too dangerous for him to be this close to me if I phased. I could hurt him by accident, just like I had hurt Edward.

"Babe, you're okay. Just breathe." Tobias wrapped his arms around me and held me close, though I didn't hold him back. A few minutes passed, but I finally felt my breathing slow.

When he spoke again, his voice was honey. "I wasn't trying to bribe you," he told me. "I was coming to be with you before I left."

"Before you left? To go where?" My heart was racing suddenly. Was he leaving me? Had he given up on me already? But no – he hadn't even gone hunting with the Cullens yet. And he said…he _promised_…

_Knock, knock. _I turned my head to see where the two sharp raps had come from. Emmett was standing in the window with an apologetic expression on his face.

"Hey, guys." His eyes landed on me only briefly before he trained his eyes toward Tobias, forcing himself not to look at me. I instantly remembered my open robe and yanked it closed, tying the belt unnecessarily tight. "It seems like you guys are sort of busy…but um…Carlisle asked me to come get you. We're leaving in ten." I looked up with disbelief but Emmett was gone.

"That was a strange thing you did," Tobias said, "reacting that way when Emmett peeked in. You've been underdressed around the Cullen men before, haven't you?" Yes, I had.

"I guess," I sighed. "But that doesn't mean I enjoy it. And anyway, lately I've felt like my body should be something only you get to see." He smiled. Only then did I actually process what Emmett had said. There was only one place Carlisle, Emmett, _and _Toby would be going together.

Hunting.

"I'm sorry I blew up on you." I looked at Tobias from under my lashes, begging with my eyes to be forgiven.

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't bite my head off at least once a day." I laughed. I brought myself a step closer to him, craving a kiss to officially end our 'fight'. Tobias wrapped his hands securely around my waist and squeezed tight. I kissed him deeply. I was never good at admitting it when I was wrong, but maybe he would get the picture through my tongue telepathy.

I bit his bottom lip gently, quickly remembering the feeling I'd had when I first walked in and the 'mood music' was playing. I felt his hand gently trace the side of my breast and gasped. He moaned into my mouth in response. The moisture pooled between my legs as his arousal became more and more obvious. I reached down to untie my robe again, but Tobias caught my wrists.

"I can't," he whispered.

I whimpered. "I know," he said. "Don't get me wrong…I want to…" he trailed off. I bit down on my bottom lip as I fought the urge to tackle him. Had I been wearing any panties, they would have been soaked by now. Instead I felt a tiny bit of moisture begin to trickle down my inner thigh. Now Tobias was worrying over his bottom lip as well. I watched him inhale deeply and could have sworn I saw his eyes get darker. "Fuck," he growled, "I can _smell _that, you know."

I sighed, "Can't you stay just a little while longer? We can be quick." My voice turned up at the end, like a question.

"You heard Emmett. He said they were leaving in ten – that was six and a half minutes ago." Trust him to be relentlessly precise. "Besides, there's only one way that we could both find our release that quickly. And I thought you wanted to wait."

I sighed. Why did he always have to be right?

"I really do wish I could stay longer, but I don't want to keep the guys waiting."

"The guys?" I teased. If he could have, I swear he would have blushed.

"We're becoming friends." He half smiled.

"That's nice. Seth says they're pretty cool."

"Seth says?"

I shrugged, "I don't know them very well." _Nor do I ever wish to, _I thought.

"If you gave them a chance, you might like them. I know you had plenty of reasons to hate them – "

"_Have _plenty of reasons – "

"Such as?" He smiled when I failed to reply. "I have to go. They leave in thirty seconds. Love you." He kissed me gently on the forehead, then disappeared out of my window before I could say another word.

Jokingly, I ran over to the window and stuck my head out.

"Bye, Toby," I screamed. "Have fun! And stay away from the elk, they're kind of sour." I smiled when I heard his ghostly laugh echo in the distance. A soft, beeping noise began to sound from my dresser. When I turned my head, I realized that the alarm I had set for the fitting was going off.

Shit, I was running late. And I had wanted to be early…

I hurried to my dresser and tried to find an appropriate outfit to wear to my fitting. I rummaged around my dresser drawers for a few minutes before giving up and settling on a too-big t-shirt and a holey pair of sweat pants to wear over my sports bra and boy shorts. Just then there was a knock at the door.

I quickly slid my feet into my flip flops and ran over, eager to get back to my room and force some gel into my hair before it dried. Short hair was a pain, but as long as I was still phasing, it was necessary.

The stench of the person on the other side of the door hit me before I even opened it.

"Alice?"

"Hi," she said, casually. Was I missing something? Why was she in La Push?

"Ummmm…has the treaty been abolished without my knowledge?" Shock flashed across her face for only a split second before she responded.

"Yes, actually," she chirped.

"What?!"

"Leah," she said, sounding slightly less chipper, "is my nose deceiving me, or did Tobias just leave?" Her words stung. She was absolutely right.

I sighed, "I guess I see your point."

"Exactly," she squealed. "Jacob thought that, given everything, there wasn't really a point to the treaty anymore. Anyhow, speaking of Jacob, I was talking to him at the airport this morning, and he informed me that your wardrobe was a bit," – she paused to look me up and down – "limited."

"I lost my temper a lot at first," I explained. I kept my voice calm, ignoring her insulting facial expressions.

Alice's eyes were exploring my sweatpants, her left eyebrow shooting up whenever they found a hole.

"So I see." She exhaled. "Leah, I'm aware that I'm not your favorite person in the world. But we're going to have to work with each other, at least until the wedding. That said, let's get a few things straight."

I took a step toward her, letting the inches I had on her speak for themselves.

She didn't move a muscle. Her eyes steeled. "Sweatpants are for the gym. Flip flops are for the beach. T-shirts are forbidden unless they have a label on them, and we need to do something about your bangs, they don't suit your bone structure. Now, your skin tone will go perfectly with the color highlights I have planned, but I'm not sure how you'll feel about the cut _I'd _suggest – it's a little shorter than you might like."

I opened my mouth to speak but she ignored me. "I've brought some options…" she trailed off and turned around, lifting up a duffle bag you could fit a whole person in. She unzipped and pulled out a folder, revealing several pictures of short hair-doos she had stapled together. I started to tell her off but was immediately distracted by the hair styles she'd found. They actually weren't half bad. _Oh! I like that one!_ "I've also pulled some looks for you to wear during the final week, using your ideal color pallet." She shoved a binder into my arms with the words _Leah's Look Book _written on the cover in sharpie. "Here are the options for your rehearsal dinner dress." Another binder landed in my arms. "And I narrowed your bridesmaids dress down to two fabrics, but I wasn't sure which would lay better once we find the right shape for your dress. I'm assuming you can walk in heels?" I nodded. "Good," she chirped brightly. "Now, leave all that stuff in the house and come one. We're going bra shopping."

I wanted to be angry. I wanted to be furious. But I was kind of impressed and – dare I say so? – excited. Most girls in a wedding party only got to wear a bad dress. I was getting a makeover (and a damn good one, at that).

In the time it took me to walk to the kitchen and set the binders down on the counter top, Alice had unpacked her duffle bag and transformed my living room into a spa. I was slightly annoyed that she had decided to let herself in, but not quite enough to ask her to undo it. Instead, I obediently walked toward the front door, ready to go shopping for a real bra. When I got to the door, I heard Alice clear her throat.

I turned to look at her, realizing that she was staring at my hair. She tilted her head to the side, taking a good look at it, then looked back at me before an object came flying at my face. I caught it in my hands and looked down at the shiny, pink bottle. _Mousse. _

"Shake, and apply generously." She trotted out to the Porsche and started the engine before I even had a chance to respond. Reluctantly, I shook the bottle and pushed down on its funny little knob. White goo sprayed into my hand and I gingerly pushed it into my hair, not at all certain that I was applying it correctly.

"So pushy," I grumbled to myself as I set the bottle down on the coffee table (which was now covered in a white cloth with pink, shimmery detail). I made my way outside to the Porsche, trying to hide my excitement as I delicately lifted the bright yellow door handle and slipped into the plush, leather seat.

Alice took off like a bullet, speeding through the backstreets until we hit the highway. Once we were closer to the city she slowed down a bit, but still never went below 80 mph, weaving around any poor car that got in her way. It wasn't until we passed the sign for Port Angeles (which I had assumed was our destination) that I realized I didn't know where we were going. As if on cue, she turned to me.

"Don't worry. By the time we finish on Rodeo, it'll be dark. We'll be back in half an hour if we turn the headlights off." Rodeo? As in Rodeo _Drive_?! Couldn't we have just gone to Seattle?

"So…once we get to the store – "

"Stores," she corrected.

Despite myself, I smirked. "Well, once we get there, do I get a say in anything that we buy?"

She smiled, "Don't be silly, Leah. You're part of the family now."

Satisfied with her answer, I nodded and turned back toward the road in my seat. As soon as I felt myself relax, she giggled. "That means no, by the way."

I sighed.

**Tobias POV**

I shouldn't have been jealous. It was irrational for me to be experiencing the unfamiliar emotion as I climbed through Leah's window and started toward the Cullens' house. But either way, I was feeling it. Despite knowing that all of the Cullens were perfectly mated with their eternal loves, somehow I hadn't liked the look on Emmett's face when he'd initially glanced over at Leah. Something in me felt that he was trying a little too hard not to look, as though he secretly wanted to. That same something had me turning around, taking a detour toward the ocean to wash Leah's scent from my body before my first hunting trip with the guys.

I smiled to myself as I remembered the look on Leah's face when she'd heard me say that – _the guys. _She would warm up to them eventually. She just had to…

All at once a smell that I wasn't expecting to find here hit me, causing me to stop in my tracks. I was already shoulders-deep in the water, but I was sure of what I smelled. There was another vampire here, and it wasn't one I knew. I scanned the water quickly and found the source of the unfamiliar scent emerging from under the waves. There was a male vampire heading toward me with his palms held peacefully in front of his face. His skin went beyond the normal pale skin of our kind. It was more of a pasty white, a trait that the Volturi were rumored to share.

I was intrigued.

"Do not be alarmed." His voice made me even more certain of his age. He spoke quickly and very quietly, as though afraid of being heard. "My intentions are peaceful. For now, at least. I just want a word."

"What can I do for you?" I tried to keep my tone neutral and quiet, like his. I tried to keep the excitement out of my voice. Truly I should be weary of him, but my associating him with the Volturi was making me calm and – if I admitted it – excited. It should have bothered me that he seemed to know me. Where would he have known me from? What could he want?

"You've heard of the Volturi, I presume?" Heard of them?! I couldn't help it now. I knew the excitement was all but oozing out of my face. "Don't get too excited," he warned. "I don't work for them. In fact…well…I may as well come right out with it – I'm not very fond of them at all."

If he had meant reel me in with that last sentence, things were going exactly according to his plan.

"You may not be aware of this, as you'd been living nomadically until recently, but the Volturi were recently defeated by the Cullens that you've grown so close with." I wanted to respond, but I held my tongue instead. It was clear that the stranger had much more to say. "The Volturi had come to eliminate them, you see, not realizing that their powers, especially Bella's, made them more than a match for them. Now you may not consider that a defeat, but I certainly do. I've been waiting centuries for this opportunity. And with the number of witnesses doubting their credibility now, well," – he shrugged – "there couldn't be a better time." He stopped there, his words lingering in the air, willing me to find meaning in them.

"A better time…?" I inclined my head, urging him to continue.

"To give the word defeat a more satisfying definition." He smiled. "To be rid of the Volturi – once and for all."

I let his words sink in. I didn't have to think particularly long or hard about it. I'd been curious about the Cullens from the beginning, and now it was confirmed. Not only _could_ they take on the Volturi – they had!

But something stopped my thoughts from progressing. If the Cullens were the ones with all the power, then what did this stranger want from me?

"Where do I fit into all this?"

He sighed, seeming relieved that I had asked. "The female dog – "

"Werewolf," I snapped.

"Shape shifter, if you want to get technical, but have it your way." A smirk was forming on the stranger's face despite the tone of our exchange. "As her imprint you've been linked to her inextricably. And the Alpha wolf is linked to the Cullens through the child – Renesmee." He momentarily searched my face when he mentioned the girl, then moved on as though satisfied with what he saw. "You're one of them now. If they fight, you'll have no choice but to fight with them. More importantly, if _you_ fight…" he trailed off. He seemed to enjoy keeping things mysterious and dramatic.

"So you want me to provoke the Volturi so that the Cullens – "

"And shape shifters," he interjected.

" – will fight them?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

He nodded. "I'll be back in a few days." I opened my mouth to ask his name, but he shook his head. "Don't worry about anything. I'll find you. Until then, think about what I've said. Or rather, don't – at least not for the next few hours. Edward won't like what we've talked about. Don't be obvious, now. No reciting nursery rhymes in your head. Think of your dog – "

"Wolf."

"Whatever you prefer. That should keep you occupied. Now run along – you're late."

And with that, he disappeared under the waves.


	7. Chapter 7 The Ambuscade

**Disclaimer: **All publically recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**The Ambuscade**

**Renesmee POV**

I looked at the seat with my number on it, and then back down at my ticket to make sure my vision hadn't been affected by wishful thinking. I double checked.

_Yes! _I had a window seat. Not that it really mattered. With plenty of shoulder and leg room here in first class, there would have been no reason for Jacob to deny me if I asked to switch. Also, he always let me have my way. I thought about that for a second, just to see if I was generalizing, but I wasn't. It was the truth, without exception. A part of me didn't like that, though. I was no stranger to having my way – Mom and Dad and especially Esme did nothing _but _make sure I had everything I wanted. It was too easy for me to let Jake do the same, and somehow that didn't seem right. It seemed like…I don't know…like I would be taking advantage of him.

I sighed. I didn't need to worry about that right now. The window seat was rightfully mine. I settled into my seat and began unpacking my carry on. Camera – check. Neck pillow – check. Headphones and iPod – check. Book…

Uh oh.

"Jake, did I pack my book in my carry on?" I felt around the bag frantically, but my fingers weren't finding anything book-like. "Crap! Did I pack it in the suitcase instead?" I looked up at Jacob but his face was smooth. He reached into the pocket of his cargo shorts and produced my paperback, a grin spreading over his face.

The impact of his smile stunned me momentarily. His smile was so wide; so white. It made his whole face shine. He was so lit up right now, so bright. Like the…

"You asked me to hold it, remember? What's with you lately? I didn't realize you could even forget things." I scowled, forgetting my previous thought. I hadn't realized that either. I knew I was half human, so I shouldn't have been surprised. It's just that I was used to being told how different from humans I was. I was stronger and faster, both physically and mentally. I was young, so it was fine if I wasn't on the same level as Mom and Dad yet. I always thought I'd get there.

Suddenly I found myself doubting that. Were my human qualities developing as I grew in addition to vampiric ones? First I forgot my book – what was next? Clumsiness? Weaker senses? Would I lose my taste for blood?

"Ness?"

I gasped. Jake's hand had reached up to cup my face, bringing my gaze toward his. "You okay?"

I didn't respond. I just stared at him, taking him in. His big, black eyes. His dark, russet skin. His smell – like La Push, with a hint of sandalwood. I looked at his mouth. No longer smiling, I could clearly see the shape of his full lips. They had a dark pink color to them. They looked soft. I wonder how he'd…

I shook my head.

_Snap out of it, Nessie. He doesn't like you like that. He's older than you – he thinks you're just a kid. _

I hated it. He'd been here for me since I was born. I knew that he and Mom had been friends way before then, but I also knew it was about me. He was like my godfather or something. He was the one Mom and Dad were going to trust me with when they thought they were going to die. I knew he wasn't going anywhere. Still, I hated what he was to me. At first I wasn't sure, but it had recently become clear that I had…_sigh_…feelings…for Jacob. And I knew he could never return them. How could he? He was my family.

I made sure to keep my hands to myself so he wouldn't know my thoughts. No privacy – that was one vampire trait I wouldn't mind having disappear.

"Ness?" I smiled at Jacob, overdoing it a bit.

"I'm fine. I was just worrying that I would become too human one day. You know – forgetful, clumsy. Normal people kind of stuff."

"Nothing about you is normal, kid. You've always been special." Okay, so the first sentence sucked – he had called me kid again – but the second one I was going to write in my diary later.

A voice came over the loud speaker, alerting us that we would be taking off soon and that seatbelt signs were on. I put my seatbelt on, suddenly feeling a little bit nervous. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. Planes crashed all the time. Would Jacob and I be able to survive if anything happened? Oh God, what would it do to Mom and Dad if I didn't come home?

I slipped my hands under my legs, not wanting Jacob to accidentally intrude on my paranoia, when I suddenly felt myself getting very, very tired. The waves of sleepiness were much too strong, too unnatural, and I knew when I looked out the window that I would see a particular pair of golden eyes.

"Thank you," I mouthed to him, not sure if he could hear me from here as he stared through the window of the airport.

"Anytime," Uncle Jasper mouthed back, winking at me. Aunt Alice was at his side and blew me a kiss, shaking her head a little as though responding to my frantic thoughts. I felt silly now, realizing that Alice was probably keeping tabs on the pilot – she couldn't stand being blind. I relaxed at the thought – and the knowledge that I would be unconscious before we were in the air – and adjusted myself to get comfortable. I slid my hands out from beneath my legs and positioned them on the armrests. I was a little surprised when Jacob's enormous, warm hand rested over my own, but was too lazy to object. Instead, I allowed my head to fall onto his warm shoulder as my eyes fluttered shut.

"Sleeping already?" Jacob teased. Apparently he hadn't spotted Uncle Jazz staring at me through the window.

"Mhmmm," I hummed.

"Okay. Sleep tight, babe." My heart fluttered. Had he really said that, or had I imagined it? I decided it didn't matter, and opened my mouth, ready to encourage my might-be hallucination by responding.

"You're so warm, Jake," I whispered.

He chuckled, "It's a wolf thing."

"No, it's a Jacob thing. You're like…" I trailed off, yawning.

"What's that, Nessie?"

"You're like the sun." I was asleep a few seconds later. I didn't notice at all when Jacob stiffened beneath me.

**Jacob POV**

I put my hand over hers, trying to keep her calm. I hadn't missed it when she'd hidden her hands from me, probably too embarrassed to let me know she was nervous. As if anything was going to happen to her on this plane. Not only was Alice monitoring the pilot's every decision, but I had received very strict instructions from Edward on what to do in case of emergencies. I smiled briefly as I remembered our conversation.

"_Alright, dog. That's the last bag. Before you go, we need to go over some ground rules."_

"_Do we really need to – "_

" _Rule one: You bring her back in the same condition she left in. Rule two: You return with _only_ her – no puppies." I laughed. He smirked, but then when Bella glared at him, "I'm serious. Rule three: If terrorists hijack the plane you take them out and deal with being a hero for a few hours. When you land you take Nessie and get away from the airport as fast as you can. Rule four: If the plane is crashing for any reason you wait until you're low enough to the ground to jump with Nessie, kick out the wall, and get her to safety. Got it?"_

"_Got it, Edward."_

"_Good. Don't let her eat too much ice-cream. It's not healthy, I think."_

I was brought back to the present when Nessie sighed next to me, resting her cheek against my shoulder.

"Sleeping already?"

She mumbled a response that was barely audible. Only then did I see Jasper peering through the airport window. She must have really been freaking out about flying, then.

"Okay," I whispered. "Sleep tight, babe." Without thinking, I glanced up to see if Jasper or Alice had reacted, but neither of them seemed to have noticed me, both focused intently on Nessie. I looked down at Ness again, thinking carefully about what had slipped through my teeth. Something was happening between us. I wasn't surprised – I had always known this day would come. Rather, I had no idea how to approach the situation. What, was I supposed to walk up to her one day and say, 'Hey Ness, guess what? We're soul mates. Wanna go catch a water buffalo?'

Ness shifted slightly on my shoulder, muttering something about my being warm.

"It's a wolf thing," I told her. She mumbled something else, but trailed off yawning. Jasper was a strong drug. I should have let her drift off, but anxious to know her every thought, I couldn't help asking,

"What's that, Nessie?"

"You're like the sun," she purred, before she finally went unconscious. I felt every muscle in my body stiffen. I wasn't paying attention when the plane began moving to the runway, focusing instead on the hand that was touching hers. I was waiting for her dreams to come. Would she dream of me?

The plane was in the air and the seatbelt signs were off by the time images appeared. I closed my eyes and watched. First colors appeared in no particular order or shape. After a few minutes, though, I was there. I was smiling at her. I was touching her face – just holding her cheeks as I spoke to her, the way I sometimes did. But then I was kissing her, and the shock of how badly I really wanted to do that made me yank my hand away from hers.

Nessie woke with a start, glancing around anxiously to see where she was. She relaxed when she realized that take off was long behind is, opening her window and gazing out in awe. After a few moments she grabbed her camera and spent the next half hour taking pictures of clouds. I, on the other hand, was not as calm. Unwanted thoughts swam in my head. Every time she moved I noted the way her curls bounced around her shoulders. I noticed the delicate line of her neck, the perfect pout of her lips. Her deep brown eyes, their color all too familiar. I noted that once we landed we'd be heading to a hotel room to spend the week – alone. If Bella knew my thoughts right now she'd kick the crap out of me.

_Damn. _I was going to have to get my mind under control by the time we got back, or Edward would notice the new direction my thoughts had taken. Abruptly, I tore my eyes away from her and planted them on the seatbelt sign, waiting for the light to flick back on.

The rest of the flight was torturous.

**Tobias POV**

I sat on the rock hoping Emmett was still hunting for bears. Edward, Carlisle and Jasper had sated themselves over an hour ago and had gone back to the car to wait for us. I'd taken exactly one pull from a small elk and spit it right back out before giving up on herbivores entirely. Now two mountain lions lay unmoving in front of me – Edward had recommended them – and I was nowhere near satisfied. It wasn't that I was still thirsty. It was just…

It was like the time when I was ten – the clearest human memory I had left – and my mother had asked me to go outside and help my father dig the potatoes for the first time. I hadn't wanted to go. We weren't the poorest family in town, but we weren't the wealthiest either. We were somewhere in between – having enough money to afford a cook yet not enough to stop having to get our own firewood and wash our own clothes. I hadn't realized it at the time, but my mother must have been a social climber. She'd kept up appearances, making people believe we had more than we did. I'd been accepted into a higher part of society than I actually belonged, even as a boy, and thus resented the things I should have wanted to do out of respect for my parents.

Things like digging the potatoes.

She'd promised me one of father's forbidden chocolates if I complied. They were kept in his office, at the very back of the top drawer of his desk. I hadn't ever been allowed one before, but could imagine the taste. A friend of mine kept chocolates hidden away in his room – he'd swipe them from his parent's parties and hoard them there for our play dates. I had imagined the taste to be ten times richer than those chocolates. Perhaps a bit sweeter; just a little tart.

When we came inside and she asked for the key to the desk, my father told her he had finished the last of the chocolates the previous night. Feeling horrible about causing her to break her promise, he hurried into town and luckily bought a few chocolates before the shop was closed. These weren't special chocolates, though. These were just any old ones, no different from the ones I had at my play dates. Several times afterward, even well after I was changed, I wondered if my father's chocolates might have really been all that different. Perhaps they hadn't ever been some rare breed of chocolates that deserved to be prized the way he'd prized them. Perhaps they were as ordinary as the ones I'd had that night, but he had been too selfish to allow me even one. And yet, no matter what I told myself afterward, they remained the most delicious chocolates in the world because I had made them so in my mind; at first because I'd known I couldn't have them, and then because I knew I never would.

That was what this was like – sitting here with an unpleasant taste coating my mouth, trying to convince myself that I had hunted enough. Only worse, because the heavenly taste I so longed for wasn't one I had invented in my mind. It was one I had experienced so many times before. One I never thought I'd trade – one I still didn't know if I could.

I heard a twig crack a few feet away and looked up to see Emmett walking over to me lazily. There was a slight tear in the right sleeve of his shirt – it looked as if he'd flexed too hard and torn it. Other than that, he was clean. I couldn't help looking down at my own shirt; torn in several places and soiled with dirt and blood. This sort of hunting was so different than what I was used to. It was completely invigorating at the start, unlike the other kind. The real problem was afterward.

"It doesn't help to think about it." Emmett hadn't even made eye contact with me. He was looking down at his feet, looking comfortable on the rock with his elbows on his knees.

"I thought Edward was the mind reader."

"We all get that look every now and then."

"This is different. You're used to it."

He sighed. "I've slipped before, you know." I looked up, hoping he would finally meet my eye, but he continued to look at his feet. "A singer," he mumbled. It was audible when my jaw dropped. "Do you know how hard it was to know that that was out there and not…" he trailed off. I didn't interrupt him, despite the lingering silence. Whatever was happening inside his head, this was something that I probably needed to hear. He sighed, "And then to come back to this?" He laughed, but in a dark sort of way. "Believe me, I am more than familiar with the blank stare that was on your face a few minutes ago."

Finally he met my eye.

"What was it like?"

"It was over quickly."

"That's not quite what I – "

"Yea, but that's the important part. That's the part to remember. You know, Rose had me changed. When she found me she didn't trust herself enough to do it herself, so she brought me to Carlisle. He had never slipped and still hasn't; Rose never has. Edward went his own way for awhile, but even then, that was _intentional. _And you know Bella?" I nodded. "She was Edward's singer. He would kiss her – _kiss her _– and manage not to kill her, and more than that after they were married. But I had to be the one to kill someone by accident. I had to come home to Rose and tell her what I'd done. We all had to move because of me. And all for what? Thirty seconds of pleasure? Maybe a minute or so if I had made it last, but I wasn't thinking of that at the time." He sighed. "I wasn't thinking of anything."

"So you regret it?" I asked. "Even though you got to taste…" Emmett's face began to twist into pain – I let my sentence die off.

"Thirty seconds," he said, flatly. "And then you'll come home. And your eyes will be devil red. And Leah will take one look at you and…maybe not if she was one of us. She'd understand, then, you know? She'd have felt the temptation herself – she couldn't hate you for it. But Leah isn't like us, man. It's what we are that matters to her most, not what we _try_ to be. If you slip up and remind her you're a killer – that you've killed before; that you _want_ to kill again – just as she's starting to forget, you'll lose her. That's a promise. Imprint or not."

"You sound so sure. Yet your alliance with the wolves hasn't been that long. You don't know how strong the power of imprinting is."

"Edward has described it to me. It isn't so different from what we feel for our mates."

"Really?"

"Apparently. It's unnaturally strong, just like our love. It's permanent. But it's not unbreakable."

Something about his tone made me very nervous. I wasn't sure why, but I had the distinct feeling that he was warning me.

"Why does it seem like you're trying to tell me something? Something else."

"You seem stubborn," he smiled, "like someone else I know. You seem like you want everything to be your way. Except with women, especially women like Leah, you're not gonna get it your way. I see that you're fighting things, when there's obviously only one way this could all work out." He shook his head. "You shouldn't. Edward tried to fight against him and Bella at first…" He trailed off, shaking his head again. "She can't live without you. But she can't live _with _you if you don't change. You do see my point, right? You do realize there's another option – another thing that she can do if you refuse to give her what she wants?"

My eyes widened as I finally caught the meaning behind his words.

"Leah doesn't seem like she would do that."

"Do you really want to test that theory?"

I shook my head, refusing to accept what he'd said. "But you heard what the wolves said. They can't hurt me. She cares for me too much, and they wouldn't hurt one of their own. She wouldn't have me killed if I refuse to feed on animals. She wouldn't – "

"You're missing the point." His voice was stern now. "Of course she won't hurt _you_. Read my lips, man. If she can't live with you, and she can't live without you, what does that leave?"

He stared at me expectantly. I waited for his words to click into place and for sense to be made of them, but nothing happened. Perhaps it was because I loved her too much. Perhaps it was because the imagery the thought would provoke was something my brain refused to even process. I breathed out roughly, the air rushing out of my lungs in a huff, and furrowed my brow in frustration. My non-beating heart nearly cracked in half at the words that Emmett spoke next.

"Suicide, man." I stopped breathing. "Think about that the next time you're wondering if all this," he gestured to the dead mountain lions, "is worth it. Don't ask yourself if it's worth the relationship, ask if it's worth her life, 'cause that's what it'll cost if you can't man up and do the right thing." He leaned over and punched me gently in the arm. I met his eyes. "One more before we head back?"

I nodded. "The lions aren't half bad, really."

He smiled, "'Atta boy."

And with that I headed off with him to find my next kill, determined to acquire a taste for it.

**Leah POV**

Dawn began to break as we sped back toward La Push. I had hoped that I would get to see how the light played off of my skin (which was now ridiculously smooth thanks to the spa appointment Alice had surprised me with), but the windows were too dark for any light to get through. I folded the car mirror down yet again to survey my new hair. It was cropped super short now, with my bangs only long enough to sweep across my forehead to one side.

I loved it.

"Alice?"

"Hmmm?"

"I get that you wanted to go shopping in LA, but couldn't you have done my hair and nails and stuff yourself?

"Probably, but you wouldn't have wanted me to. It's not really important who makes you over, so long as you're made over by the wedding." Something in her tone told me that it _was_ important to her.

Maybe it was my love for Tobias, maybe it was how patient Alice had been with me all day, or maybe it was the sophisticated feeling I had sitting in these designer shorts, silk green blouse and fancy sandals. Either way, something made me unsatisfied with the way that I felt about Alice, and the fact that she _knew_ it. A week from now she would be my family, and family didn't treat each other the way I treated the Cullens.

I took a deep breath and turned toward Alice. She sensed my mood somehow and turned to face me. When she did, I made sure to look her straight in the eye (which, in and of itself, took more strength than I knew I had).

"I wouldn't mind, I guess. Jake tells us how you like to dress everyone – you even keep Charlie in style. And I know you do Nessie's hair and stuff. I mean, if that's the kind of stuff you like to do," I spoke slowly, deliberately pushing each word out. "Then you can do it."

She smiled.

"You got a lot of green," I said, suddenly thinking about the amount of green clothing that was being overnight shipped to my house.

"Earth tones compliment your skin tone," she chirped, sounding a little too casual.

"Green isn't the only earth tone, is there?" She laughed. "How many forest green blouses do I own now?"

"Thirty seven, not counting the one you're wearing. You don't hate green or something, do you?"

"No. Green is alright. I like gold too, though."

"Tobias likes you in green." I gasped. "When he thinks about you, he always imagines you in green silk gowns. Edward found it amusing, considering the odds that you'd ever be in a silk gown what with all the phasing. Of course, with me as your stylist, the odds have risen considerably."

I laughed. "Too bad my mom wanted a light color scheme for the wedding. My bridesmaid's gown could have been green."

In one smooth motion, Alice reached into the backseat, grabbed a boutique bag that I hadn't yet seen, and dropped it in my lap. Knowing her well enough by now to know she wouldn't explain herself, I reached inside and unfolded the paper to reveal its contents.

I turned my head slightly away from Alice so she wouldn't see me blush as I stared at the silk, emerald green lingerie with gold lace trim.

"It's a baby doll," she said, her eyes never leaving the road. "It's not quite as long as the gown in his fantasies," she teased, "but who knows. Maybe after he sees you in it he'll decide he likes this more."

I was silent, too embarrassed to respond until the word _decide _caught my attention. Alice pulled up in front of my house and stopped, putting the car in park.

"Do you need me to show you how to use all of the products in the living room before I go?"

I shook my head. "I think I can do it. If not, you can show me tomorrow."

She nodded.

"Alice?" I asked. She looked at me expectantly. "Can you see Tobias? His future decisions, I mean."

"I can," she said. "He may be a little different than the rest of us, considering his power, but he is a vampire. Fundamentally, at least."

"What about where I'm concerned?" Her brow furrowed.

"I've never been able to see _you, _Leah."

"No," I sighed. "I mean, like…" I hesitated, wishing I didn't have to explain myself. "Like for instance, when he comes back from the hunting trip, if I'm in this," I gestured to the bag, "can you tell if he'll…if we'll…"

She shook her head.

"Sorry." I sighed. "But that's the right color, if it helps at all."

"Thanks, Alice. For everything, I mean."

"Yup," she chirped. "Don't leave the house tomorrow, okay? I can't tell exactly when your things are coming, but you'll need to be here to sign for them."

"Okay. Um…I guess you can't tell me when Tobias will be back from the – "

"Twenty minutes." She stared at me for a moment, then laughed at my confused expression. "Jasper texted." I laughed. "I guess you'd best be getting changed, then?" She quirked an eyebrow, glancing at the bag.

"Oh! Um…okay then." I opened the door with a shaky hand and hurried out of the car, trying hard not to slam the door too hard and ruin the Porsche. There was no way I could afford to pay for the damage. "Bye, Alice."

I heard a giggle from behind me as I sprinted into the house. When I got into my room I found a Post-it stuck to my computer desk telling me that Charlie had invited Sue and Seth to Forks for the night. I briefly wondered if Alice had anything to do with the conveniently empty house as I slid into the baby doll and admired the result in the mirror, waiting for Tobias to arrive.

**Renesmee POV**

The plane ride had been everything I had imagined and more. My memory card was completely full, with 450 pictures total. 220 of them were of nothing by sky and clouds, but I didn't care. I had already planned the pattern I would arrange them in on my wall when we got back home.

I took the memory card out of the camera and placed it in the top drawer of the hotel night stand, pulling another one out of my suitcase. I was prepared to defend myself, convinced that Jacob would use this as an opportunity to tease me, but there was silence. I glanced up to find that he wasn't even looking at me. He was staring out the window, a blank expression on his face.

That was the only part of the plane ride that hadn't been the way I had imagined it. I had hoped that this trip would bring us closer together. Instead, from the moment I woke up on the plane, Jake had been more distant that ever.

"Jake?" He continued to stare out the window for a moment, as though debating whether he should answer me. Finally he turned and faced me, though his expression was guarded. "What is it? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you didn't." I waited for him to elaborate. He didn't.

"I know something is bothering you, Jake. You've barely said two words to me since we left. This trip was supposed to be fun." I resisted the urge to pout, not wanting him to remind him how much younger than him I was.

Jacob resumed his glossy stare out the window. Suddenly, he took a deep breath, as though steeling himself, and made a b-line toward me, plopping down on the bed opposite me.

"I'm sorry," he started. "There's something I need to tell you. I know you've been looking forward to this trip, and I hate that I might be ruining it. But if I don't tell you, you're gonna know something's up, and I'll be ruining it for you anyway."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ness, you know all the stuff that's been going on lately with Tobias and Leah?"

I nodded, "Yeah. She imprinted on him, right?"

"Right. Do you know what that means?"

"I guess. It's like mates, isn't it? It's like my mom and dad. And Aunt Rose, and Uncle Emmett."

He nodded, "And Alice and Jasper. And even your grandparents. They're all perfectly paired, as though they were made for each other."

"My dad says that he and my mom _were _made for each other. That everything about her suggested she was destined to be one of them – even when she was human."

Jacob laughed. "Bella never was an ordinary human. She was as pale as you, even before she was changed."

"No way," I laughed.

"Yup!" Jacob started to crack up, then stopped himself, forcing himself to get serious again. The gesture was so unlike him, and I was suddenly reminded about how the conversation had started.

"What does this have to do with you being sorry?"

"The thing about imprinting is…it isn't always…convenient."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, look at Leah. She's always hated vampires," – he saw me flinch, but kept going – "more than any of the other wolves. And this vampire of hers was perfectly content with killing humans. Now they both have to adjust, all because they _saw _each other. Just one look, and both their lives have to change. They don't have a choice.

"And a long time ago, I mean…well not that long ago, but before you were born, Leah was with Sam. They were engaged. Until one day Sam laid eyes on her cousin, Emily, and boom. I don't have to tell you the rest – you know the wedding is next week.

"And then there's Quil. Did anyone ever tell you that um…" He hesitated, then steeled himself (yet again) and continued. "Did anyone ever tell you that Claire is his imprint?"

"What?"

"Yeah. I mean, the thing to remember is that age doesn't matter so much with imprinting. They're soul mates. Eventually they _will _be the same age. Quil will keep phasing until she catches up. Then he'll stop. And they can grow old together. Die together."

His words stuck me so hard that I forgot that this conversation had a point. If Quil would eventually die, then that meant Jacob would too. For some reason, it had never occurred to me that Jacob could die. He'd always seemed to be a part of my family, and I was well aware that my family was immortal. I knew that I was immortal – that eventually I would stop growing and be just like them. I had always believed that Jacob was immortal too. No one had ever told me otherwise. Or, now that I thought about it, maybe I just hadn't wanted to ask.

All at once, Jacob's hot hand was on my face, quickly wiping the tears that I hadn't even realized I was crying.

"What's wrong, Nessie? What's wrong?"

I continued to sob, not quite able to catch my breath yet. "I – " I tried. "I d-don't want you t-to…" I couldn't even finish my sentence, my sobs becoming hysterical and turning into hiccups. Suddenly I was in Jacob's arms, being cradled like a baby.

"Don't cry, baby. Don't cry. I'm not going anywhere."

"B-b-but," I hiccupped. "You s-said."

He shook his head. "That's what I'm trying to tell you. I guess I should stop beating around the bush and just say it." Jacob used the sleeve of his shirt to dry my face, gently dabbing at my tears as he spoke. "Quil and Claire belong together. But she isn't immortal, so he'll allow himself to get old and die. He _could _live forever if he wanted, but there would be no point in that without her."

"So you don't have to die?"

He smiled. "No, honey, so calm down. No more tears."

"But – " I started, then stopped myself. I'd just had a thought, a terrible thought, but I didn't want to say it out loud. I just couldn't. If I said it then it might become true.

"What is it, Ness? What are you thinking?" Jacob reached for my hand, but I pulled away. "Please, Nessie? Show me." I considered showing him – it might be easier if I didn't have to say it. But I didn't want to be a coward. I kept my hands out of his reach and resolved to use my words.

"I was thinking – what if you meet someone someday. And she isn't immortal. And you…" I sighed. "You imprint on her. Then you'll want to die when she does, like Quil, won't you?"

"No," he said, softly.

"What do you mean, 'no'? That doesn't make sense."

"I mean, no, that won't happen."

"You don't know that," I challenged him. "You _could_ meet someone, and then – "

He put his fingers over my lips, silencing me. My lips seemed to burn where his finger touched them. It wasn't a painful burn; it was a wonderful burn. It seemed to shoot through me, waking up my entire body. It made the thought of eventually losing him even more painful.

"I've already met someone," he said. He was looking at me differently now. His expression wasn't serious and guarded anymore. His eyes were warmer now as he stared at me.

_He's trying to soften the blow, _I realized, as I processed the look he was giving me. All this time I thought I had hidden my feelings so carefully. But Jacob must have seen the way I felt about him. He was trying to let me off easily before I could get in any deeper; to tell me that he already had someone else.

"When?" I asked. I brushed my hand across my face, pretending to brush my hair aside. Really I was wiping away a new tear.

"Three years ago, tomorrow." I froze. Tomorrow was my birthday.

I forced out a laugh. "Very funny, Jacob."

He didn't smile. "I'm serious."

I shook my head. Despite how badly I _wanted _what he was saying to be true, I couldn't believe him.

"But that's impossible, Jake. Wouldn't I know if I was your imprint?"

"_Don't _you know?"

He moved his face just slightly closer to mine. The shift probably wouldn't have been perceptible to human eyes, but mine noticed. My heartbeat sped considerably – which for me was saying something.

He went on. "You're so stubborn, just like Bella_. _I know you can think fast – c'mon, Nessie. You go to pieces at just the thought of living without me. I know you dreamt about me on the plane today – let's not even mention _what _you dreamt." I felt fire rushing up my neck and into my cheeks. He'd _seen _that?! "Why else do you think I haven't been able to leave your side since the day you were born? Why do you think your family even lets me in the _house_ when I stink up the carpet so badly?"

"You don't smell bad to me."

And why do you think that is?" He looked so serious. His words were pouring out of him, but he seemed so relieved to be saying it all. It really did seem as though he'd been holding it back all this time. "Do you love me, Nessie?" My heart was hammering against my chest now, practically humming. "Because I love you." _Thumpa, thumpa, thumpa, thumpa. _"There. I said it, and I'm sorry. I know you didn't want to hear all that, even if you do care about me. And don't feel like you have to say it back to me, because you don't. I just couldn't lie to you anymore. Not that I exactly _lied_, you know, but I didn't want to _not_ tell you – " I quickly covered Jacob's mouth with my hand, not wanting to hear him beg for my forgiveness one second more. I needed to catch my breath. Jacob was telling the truth. I was his imprint. He was _mine_.

I thought of what that meant, but quickly snatched my hand away from his mouth when I realized I was sharing my thoughts (though apparently he had already seen my Jacob-is-kissing-me fantasy).

"Don't be embarrassed, honey." _Honey _suddenly sounded entirely different on his lips. I wondered if it felt different for him too. "I want that too…one day." _Pang. _Tears prickled behind my eyes. The sting of his rejection was sharp despite my knowing it was only temporary.

"I don't understand. Why _one day_? Why not now?"

"Because you're _three!"_

I smacked his arm. "No, I'm not!" He raised an eyebrow at me. "Okay, so technically, yeah. But _look _at me. Really look at me, Jake. Carlisle measured me before I left – I'm the size of a fifteen year old. If I was human I would have gotten my period by now."

"What's your point, Ness?"

"What's my point?! My point is that I'm _already_ a teenager, like you. I'm not a little girl." My voice broke, despite my best efforts to keep it even.

"Don't start crying again. Look, I told you I love you, and I do, okay? I do."

"Then show me." The too-bold statement slipped through my teeth before I had a chance to think about it. I hoped that Jacob wouldn't pursue it, but I had gotten as lucky as I was going to today.

"What do you mean, 'show you'? I show you every day. I'm at fricken Disney World. I – "

"I know all that, Jake," I said, cutting him off. "But that's not all there is to love. Not this kind of love. If we're _mates_, then – "

"No." Now it was Jacob's turn to cut _me_ off. His tone was so stern, I was almost afraid to object. "Not yet."

"Then when?"

"I don't know, but not now."

I pushed myself out of his arms, suddenly refusing to be close to him if it couldn't be the way I wanted. I stormed across the room toward the door, all hesitation eliminated by the fact that he hadn't gotten up to come after me.

"Ness, wait," he shouted. My fingers had just reached the door knob. I turned to look at him over my shoulder without removing my fingers from the door.

"Where are you going?" That was it? That was all he had to say to me?

"To the bathroom," I lied, feeling stupid when I realized I was standing right across from the open bathroom door. Jacob wisely didn't mention that.

"Don't go. Please? Come back and sit down. We can talk about this."

I didn't want to do what he asked, but I wasn't all that thrilled about walking away from him, either, and not just because I didn't know my way around the hotel yet. I removed my hand from the doorknob and faced him, slowly and deliberately.

"What is there to talk about?"

"Listen, Ness. You have to understand that things were different before you were born. Way different."

I took a step closer to him. "Different how?"

"For one thing, Edward hated me."

I almost laughed, but resisted the urge. It was clear that Jake was serious. "But that's not like him. Why would he have hated you?"

"Things were different between me and Bella. Please come and sit down with me, Nessie. It makes me nervous to see you standing there by the door. I keep rushing out my words, thinking you're going to run out on me before I can explain. And I really can't rush through this, okay?"

"Okay, fine," I said, making my way toward him. Once I sat down, he continued.

"I need you to just listen, okay? No interruptions." I nodded. "I'm a werewolf, as you know. Well, a shape shifter, really. But you might not know the reason for that; why I'm not just a human boy. The reason is your family – all of you really; all vampires. I guess you could say that the Quileute tribe has always been blessed with magic so to speak. We've always been able to defend ourselves against whatever was threatening us. So when vampires became a threat, the change happened.

"I know you're half vampire Ness, so don't get upset, okay? I love you. And I and a lot of the wolves have come to think of you and the rest of the Cullens as family. Okay?" I wasn't sure what he was looking for from me, but nodded anyway. "But the truth is," he sighed, "vampires go against nature. Immortality goes against nature. Our whole world goes against everything that is really _supposed _to be.

"I stopped aging when I was sixteen, but when I was sixteen I had the body of a twenty-five year old. That wasn't supposed to happen. But the vampires were here, and I had the blood of werewolves on both sides, so it had to happen. I'm never going to die. But I should, Nessie. Really, everyone should. Which brings us to Bella.

Me and Bells met when we were kids. She used to visit Forks for a few weeks every summer, and our dads were friends so, ya know." He shrugged. "When she moved here, we kind of reconnected. Of course, she met Edward, and you know how that story ended. You don't know the whole story, though." He sighed, his face twisting into a painful expression. "I was in love with Bella. I was in love with her and she was in love with me. That's why Edward hated me. We fought over her for a while – I was convinced I was better for her. In a normal world, a natural world, we would have been soul mates – Bella and me. But the love that Bella and Edward have is _not_ natural, just like imprinting isn't natural. It was so much stronger that what Bella felt for me, so she chose Edward. At first I didn't know what I was going to do without her. I tried to imprint, but there was no one else. Every time I looked at Bella, I saw everything I'd ever need right there in her eyes." _My eyes_, I thought, but didn't say a word. "I guess the universe had to pay me back, though, for taking my rightful soul mate – for letting _him _take her." I winced, hearing Jacob talk about my father in a way that he never had before. "Sorry. I guess you can tell that I hated him too. The point is, I hated losing Bella and I hated that they were together. But them being together brought you to me. Everything changed once you were born, Ness. Everything."

"Jake…I get what you're saying. It's sick. Completely sick. But in a way it's kind of…I dunno. It's beautifully ironic or something. I just don't see what this all has to do with why you won't be with me _now_. What, are you telling me you're still carrying a torch for my mom – "

"No! Do you think I don't know how absolutely sick this all is? The only reason I'm telling you is so that you can see things from your parents' point of view. Bella almost killed me when she found out I'd imprinted on you. _Literally_ went straight for my throat."

Just like that, realization struck me. "They don't want us together."

"They've…accepted it…sort of. It would be different if you weren't aging so quickly, but you are. Bella hates watching you grow up so fast, so worried about you going off and running into the sunset with me." I smirked at his imagery. "Edward has been like a second father to me ever since the fight with the Volturi. He seems to accept us, but…I don't know. I know how annoyed I was when Paul imprinted on Rachael, and she's just my _sister_. You do realize that he can see into my head, right? He'll know it when I look at you differently? I've always loved you with my entire being – loved you completely, devoutly – but I hadn't felt an ounce of lust until today on the plane. Now all I can fricken think about is holding you, touching you, kissing you." He shook his head. "More than kissing you. But it's wrong. I'm nineteen. And even if you want to get technical – your body is fifteen years old and mine is twenty-five years old. You don't know how badly I want it to work, how I've tried to make it okay in my head. But no matter how you want to measure us, it's always wrong. I'm just too old for you. It wouldn't be right for us to be physical right now. It just wouldn't."

I sighed.

"Jake, I may only grow to be about the size of a nineteen year old. My dad is _technically _like a century older than my mom! You're trying to make this all make sense and I get it, but…maybe you shouldn't. Maybe you should just trust this. Maybe the feelings you're having are here now because it's right." I scooted toward him.

He stood up and walked across the room.

"Or maybe I've been a physically matured, hormonal teen since before you were born and couldn't resist undressing you with my eyes the minute you _sorta_," he emphasized the word, "hit puberty."

"Ugh!" I yelled, slamming my fists on the bed. Just then Jacob went rigid. "Jake, what is – "

"Shhhh," he hissed. I let my sentence die off, suddenly terrified. I listened as hard as I could. I sniffed the air, but my senses found nothing. Jacob sped toward me at a speed I'd forgotten he could move at and wrapped me in his arms, his stance protective. "What floor are we on?" He whispered the question urgently into my ear.

"Second," I whispered back. Tears were forming in my eyes. Something was wrong, but I couldn't imagine what. All I knew was that we had already called and told everyone we were safely at the hotel, and that Alice couldn't see us. I felt extremely vulnerable, suddenly hyperaware of the absence of my super-powered family.

"Hold on tight, and do exactly as I say." He didn't wait for me to answer him. Jacob had me cradled in his arms in one smooth motion. He sped toward the window and jumped right through, leaving us plummeting quickly to the ground. As we fell, Jacob swung me around to his back. I felt his body shaking violently and prepared myself for him to phase. His hands had turned to paws right before he hit the ground and I clasped tightly to his fur when he took off

running.

At first I ducked my head, my first thought to be afraid of exposure. Even if I wasn't a full vampire, I was close enough to raise suspicions. I couldn't put my family in danger. But when I peaked over my shoulder to see if I could spot what Jacob was running from, I realized that exposure was the least of our problems. I remembered Aro's face exactly. It had been burned into my memory, impossible to forget as I associated it with the day I'd almost lost my parents. I remembered the texture of his voice. His frightening smile. I knew that it was him who was staring at me now through the broken window of our hotel room, grinning at me.

"All our things are back at the room," I whispered, knowing Jacob could hear me. "He has our scents now." I allowed myself one sad thought about my camera. Now I couldn't hang my cloud pictures on my wall when I got home.

If I got home.

Jake growled. I'd forgotten I was holding onto him.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I'm just scared. How would they even know to look for us here?"

Jake grunted, but continued to run. We were running in the trees alongside what seemed to be a major highway. Was he trying to run us home?

Jake snorted. I took that as a yes.

Jake didn't slow down or stop, instead pushing faster and faster, as though convinced we were being chased. But I didn't mind, as I was constantly glancing over my shoulder, searching for the faces of the Volutri. I waited for Jake to stop running and writhe in pain, to see Jane staring at us with the evil grin my parents had described plastered on her face, or for everything to suddenly go dark if it was Alec that found us first. The worst part was that no matter who found us first, there was no way that mom or dad would have any way of knowing we were in trouble until it was too late. Alice couldn't see us. She couldn't…

Suddenly my pocket was vibrating – I must have a text message…wait! Oh my God! My cell phone! Jacob let out soft but urgent barks, and even though he hadn't technically _said _anything, I knew exactly what he meant. Urgently, I yanked my phone out and speed dialed home, careful not to press too hard and break the phone. I held the phone to my ear, trying to moderate my grip on it, which was difficult considering my other hand was clutching Jacob's fur for dear life. Literally.

It only rang once.

"Ness?"

"Dad! Thank goodness."

"What's wrong?" His voice was low, clipped, and urgent. My words came out in a hushed rush.

"I don't know how or why but the Volturi are here. Aro came to our room. Jacob got us away, he's running, but they're probably following us. Come quick." I realized how stupid the words were – no matter how fast he ran he would never get here in time – but I couldn't help myself. I wished more than anything for my family to somehow magically appear.

"Tell him to run you north. Can he hear me?"

Jacob grunted. "Yes."

"Wait a second. Alice!" Somehow I was able to hear Alice rush over, even through the phone.

"What's wrong?" Her high pitched squeal almost hurt me ear.

"Look for the Volturi. Now."

I waited. For a long moment, it was quiet. But then I heard her gasp.

"Nessie, you still there?" His voice was sad now. My heart clenched. What had Alice seen?

"Yes, Daddy. What is it?"

"Tell Jacob to stop running." Jake only slowed to a reluctant trot. "Alice can't see Volterra."

I felt myself shaking now. I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself, but I just knew this was going to end badly. We weren't going to get away. Why else had Jacob suddenly come to a stop?

"What does that mean?"

Jacob bucked, throwing me off of his back. This probably would have landed a human on their collarbone, but this was something we did when we hunted together, and even though the movement had taken me by surprise, I skillfully landed on my feet. By the time I looked to Jacob again, he had phased and pulled on his shorts.

"It means," Jake whispered, "that either Volterra magically disappears in the future, or something there is blocking her vision." He stared at me pointedly.

"Us," I breathed.

"Actually…" The new voice caused my heart to lurch and, unthinkingly, I dropped the phone. I vaguely heard something breaking on the line – it sounded like the grand piano – before the call disconnected. I turned to see Aro standing behind me. He was grinning, and flanked by four unfamiliar vampires. It was the male on Aro's right that spoke to us now. "We don't need both of you."

I stopped breathing.

"Actually," Aro snarled, his eyes narrowing as they met his accomplice's. "We do need them both. And in the future, I'll do the talking." He turned to me and his face suddenly brightened. "Hello, Renesmee. What a pleasure to see you again."

I remembered the fight in the clearing. I thought of my mom, the way she had worn Aro's gift and been impeccably polite, even knowing that he'd come to kill me. I followed her example.

"Likewise, Aro."

"What are you doing so far from home?"

"Jacob and I are taking a vacation. I wanted to see an amusement park."

He nodded, "I see. You'll want to enjoy your childhood while it lasts." His words terrified me. I knew that he was aware of my rapid growth, but when he said "while it lasts" I wasn't sure which he was actually referring to – my childhood, or my life.

Nevertheless, I nodded, and tried to keep my next words polite. "What brings you here, so far from Volterra?"

His answering smile was wide. "I'm afraid it wasn't the tourist attractions that got me on the plane."

"No?" My voice trembled.

"No. Sorry." I sighed. "I'll make this quick," he started. My eyes darted to Jacob, hoping he had a plan, but he looked as panicked as I did. "I need you two to come with me. And mind your temper, dog." His tone was stern as he turned to Jacob. "I'm well aware of what imprinting is. If you try anything, it's not you I'll punish." He smirked, knowing the affect his words were having.

I prayed that Jacob wouldn't agree. I hoped that he really had been thinking of a way to escape all this time, and would suddenly phase and whisk us away. Instead, he stepped forward with his palms held up peacefully.

"What do you need us to do?" he asked.

Aro laughed and clapped his hands together giddily

"This is all working out beautifully," he said, still clapping like an over-eager child. "You, dog, are – "

"Jacob!" I shouted. I saw Jake turn to me in my periphery, thinking I called him, but I was focused on Aro. "He has a name, okay? It's the least you can do, don't you think?"

I snuck another sideways glance at Jacob. His face was horrified as he looked expectantly at Aro. Aro only smiled wider.

"Just like your mother," he whispered, almost to himself. "Very well, then. Jacob, you are the leader of the wolf pack, correct? You can order them to do anything you wish, can you not?" Oh, no. I saw where this was headed. "And Renesmee, you are the only one who can penetrate your mother's shield." I felt tears welling up in my eyes.

_No, no, no, no, no, _my thoughts screamed. I knew why the Volturi had _really _come to Forks all those years ago. I had only been an excuse. The real reason was that they felt threatened by my family. So many powerful vampires living together, and with werewolves as allies to boot? The Volturi just couldn't stand for anyone to be more powerful than them.

"Aro," I whispered, hoping I could appeal to him somehow. "I don't understand. My family doesn't care about power."

"But I do." He shrugged. "With Jacob, I get guard dogs. With Alice, I'll know the future. With Edward," I cringed, "I will know my enemy's every thought from a distance. With Bella, the entire guard will be safe from attack. And you, dear, tie it all together. How could any of them refuse to join me when your life depends on it?" He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Of course, now that I have you, I may not need blackmail. Jane's powers can be very convincing. And once Bella's shield is broken…" he trailed off.

"But…how?" It was too late for any escape now. We had to do what he wanted. With nothing more to lose, I didn't hesitate to make my thoughts known. "My power only works for me."

"That was how it was for your mother when she was human. However, something tells me that your power will grow, just as her power grew. I'm convinced that you'll be able to spread your ability to those around you, as she can spread her shield." I didn't hold back my sob. I hoped he was wrong. I couldn't let him use me as a weapon against my own family.

"Don't worry, dear. I'm sure that won't be necessary. I'm sure that once I've made my point, your mother and father will join me, along with Alice. Perhaps Jasper could be of use too, though his power isn't absolutely necessary." Fear clutched my chest now as a new thought hit me.

"What about…?"

"Emmett? Rosalie? Oh, they can join if they wish. Emmett's strength would be invaluable to us. And Rosalie, of course, we'd want around for leverage to keep him loyal."

"And Carlisle?"

He sighed. "I'm afraid that Carlisle's presence would only confuse your loyalties. It saddens me, but he and his wife will have to be eliminated. Come now. We have a plane to catch."

The tears flowed freely down my cheeks as I walked behind Aro. Jacob stood at my side, his arm wrapped tightly around my shoulders. The other vampires did not interfere with our closeness. I guess they realized, as we did, that we were already under their complete control.

"It's gonna be okay, sweetie," Jacob whispered, only for me. "We'll find a way out of this."

_I hope_. That was odd. I'd heard Jacob's words, clear as a bell, yet I hadn't heard his lips move. I hadn't felt his breath on my ear. Quickly, I reached for his hand and squeezed tightly, hoping I wouldn't draw attention to us.

_Think something_, I told him. His face looked strained. I tried and tried to hear something, anything, but there was silence.

"I know you're freaking out," he whispered. "But don't. You called home. They know where we are. They'll come for us."

I knew he was right, but that wasn't a good thing. The whole guard was in Volterra. That was probably just what Aro wanted, for my family to come to him. In fact, he'd probably _wanted_ me to make the phone call, just to make sure they knew where to look for us. Panic gripped at my chest, making it hard for me to breathe. There was no way out of this, was there?

_Seth knows, _Jacob said. Or rather – Jacob thought. I was glad that I was still clutching Jacob's hand. He was still in my head.

_That's right, _I told him. _I heard you._

_Holy shit, _he thought. _How in the hell can you hear me?_

_I have no idea. But whatever, what were you saying about Seth?_

_He was in wolf form when I phased. I'm afraid he'll tell the others and they'll come for us. Right into a trap._

_I know, _I thought sadly.

Suddenly, Aro turned on his heel and faced me.

"What are you telling him, Renesmee?" he asked, his hand outstretched.

Panic gripped at me. Aro had been right about my powers growing. Maybe it was the threat of the Volturi that was making it happen. Maybe it was pure fear. Either way, though, I couldn't have him know that my power was growing in a way that he didn't expect. This could be useful for Jacob and me, if only I could keep it a secret.

I reached for Aro's hand slowly as an idea came to me. Once his hand was wrapped around mine, I thought of the hotel room. I thought of my conversation with Jacob. I kept my eyes on Aro – he looked amused. While those thoughts still flashed behind Aro's eyes, I thought of what had transpired between Jacob and I a few minutes ago, editing just a few things. Then I let him see…

_I grabbed Jacob's hand out of fear. I aimed my thoughts at him. I told him how much I loved him, and how I wish he would have kissed me back at the hotel. It may have been our only chance to experience each other that_ _way_.

Aro released my hand, a troubling smirk on his face.

"Not to worry, Renesmee. You're growing up to be quite a stunning young lady. He may be a shape shifter, but deep down he's still a man." He chuckled. "I'll arrange for the two of you to share a room in Volterra. It's the least I can do," he grinned as he threw my own words back at me, "don't you think?"

Aro was repulsive. He seemed to be taking some sick pleasure in the attraction Jacob and I had for each other. I couldn't let him see my disgust, though. He had to think this was what I wanted, that the vision he'd just seen was real.

"That's…kind of you. Thank you."

He smiled and turned around, leading the way through the brush and to a limousine that was conspicuously pulled over on the side of the highway.

Jacob made sure I had a window seat so that he was the only one sitting next to me. I clutched his hand tightly so that we could communicate. I kept my face smooth and he did the same.

_This doesn't make sense, _Jacob thought. The words he directed at me were clear, but I was seeing more now. Behind my eyes, I saw colors, figures, and shapes. His thoughts were racing around in a blur. Luckily, he could see my confusion and made it a point to think slowly. _When Bella first held you after she was changed, you showed her things. We didn't know if your power would work for Bella, when no one else can get inside her head. Carlisle assumed you had the opposite of both Edward and Bella's power._

_That makes sense._

_Yeah. Except that all of a sudden you can read minds too. _

I thought about it. My power was the opposite of my dad's. He saw people's minds, I showed people mine. My mom shielded her mind…and I…

Wait. How was letting myself into other people's minds the opposite of my mother's power? It was still just the opposite of mind reading. All this time it had seemed like I had two powers, because mom was no exception. But what if that wasn't it? What if it was something else?

_What are you thinking, Ness? You must have more than one power. Otherwise you couldn't get into Bella's head._

_I know. But what if there is more to the second power than Carlisle thought?_

_I don't know, honey. But I think the most important thing right now is to use what you have to get us out of this._

_But how?_

_I've been thinking. Edward doesn't have to touch people to read minds. So technically, you shouldn't need to touch people to show them your thoughts. _I thought about that. Jake was onto something. _Practice sending your thoughts to me, Nessie, without touching me. _

_Jake, I can't._

_Try. If Aro is right and your powers can grow then maybe you can reach your family somehow. Warn them, so they and the pack don't come walking right into trap._

_Can't you do it? Can't you phase and wait for someone to hear you?_

_You really think they're going to let me phase?_

He had a point. I unwrapped my hand from his and pushed my thoughts his way, trying to keep my face smooth. I couldn't know for sure, but by the look on Jacob's face my powers were only growing in ways that were of absolutely no help to us now.


	8. Chapter 8 The Romanian

**Disclaimer: **All publically recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**The Romanian**

**Leah POV**

I stood at the mirror, gazing at the slim, polished figure in the reflection. Her eyes were twinkling with anticipation. Her hair shined with health and expensive salon product, glistening as the orange light of the sunset hit her reddish gold highlights. Her breasts, which had always seemed rather small and unimpressive, seemed a nice size, caressed and hugged by green silk; elegantly framed by gold lace. The fabric clung to her flat stomach, cinching her waist, somehow managing the illusion of that elusive hourglass figure, though hers had always been more of a boxy, boyish shape. The very bottom of the baby doll hung just below the beginnings of her thighs, making her slightly too muscular legs appear elegant and long. Her skin was shimmering against the light, every surface of her hairless and thoroughly buffed. The girl in the mirror was beautiful.

The girl in the mirror was me.

That meant I was beautiful, then? I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt this way; couldn't remember if there had _been _a last time. Had I ever gazed in the mirror and been pleased, honestly pleased, with what I saw? Had I ever taken in my reflection without noting the changes I would have made had I been able? Lost in thought, I hadn't noticed as a sweet, clean scent coated the night air, when Tobias had found his way back to La Push. It wasn't until he came back through my window that I heard him.

I was no longer transfixed by the girl in the mirror, now that someone even more beautiful was behind me.

"You're back." I whipped around, running over to him excitedly. I slung my arms around his neck and gazed into his eyes. He leaned down, probably to plant a kiss on my nose or mouth, but I pulled back, unwilling to let go of the sight just yet. His eyes were swimming with gold. They seemed liquid, molten, as they bore into mine. I'd expected that he would look the way he did when he'd first changed his eyes, but there was something dramatically different about him now. "You did it. I knew you could."

"It wasn't easy." He smiled at me. Something shifted in his eyes for a split second, too quickly for me to decode what I saw.

"Was it bad?" I asked. I'd been dreading this conversation all day, despite the day's unexpected, but most welcomed, festivities.

"Honestly?" I braced myself. "It wasn't what I expected. It was worse. The only way I know to explain it to you without offending you is…when people are hospitalized, say for an operation or something, and they aren't allowed to eat, they attach an IV to get them the nutrients they need – feeding intravenously, you could say. Imagine that. You're laid up in a room full of your favorite foods, but instead of savoring them each one by one, there is a needle in your arm, giving you your tasteless, pleasure less vitals. Truthfully, you're sated. You don't need the food. You don't need it, and you know it. But you _want _it." I sighed deeply. I didn't want to understand it, but I did. I lifted my right hand to his face, cupping his cheek. He closed his eyes when my fingers reached his face, breathing deeply, leaning into my touch. "But I want you more," he whispered. I felt my heart lurch. "I had a good, long talk with Emmett. And I see that now – I want you more."

"You're choosing me," I breathed. I hadn't intentionally made it sound like a question. His decision was clear; it was all over his face. And yet I couldn't help my disbelief. After what he'd just described to me, he wanted me more?

"Yes," he panted, pulling me close and hugging me so tightly, it almost hurt (which was saying something). I held him back just as tightly, but it only took a moment for me to become hyper aware of his body against mine. My breasts were pressed between us, flattened against his strong, hard chest. His arms clung around the small of my back, locking me against him. I thought of all he was giving up, and though I hated what he'd been before me, I couldn't ignore his sacrifice.

Suddenly, I knew what I had to do.

I slipped my hands between us, gently tugging on the straps that held up the sorry excuse for clothing that Alice had provided me with. The slender straps fell around my shoulders. Tobias' eyes flashed to my now bare collarbone, then to my eyes. His eyes widened as he looked me over thoroughly, from head to foot. Did he not notice my appearance when he first came in?

"What are you doing?" he whispered, though the catch in his breath gave him away. He already knew.

"You gave me what I needed," I told him. "Now it's my turn." I took his hands in mine and raised them to the fallen straps of my little green dress thing. His long, slender hands fingered the lacy fabric. Without waiting for his instruction, I gently pushed at his hands, forcing them lower. The fabric fell to the floor, pooling at my feet, leaving me completely undressed in front of him. His eyes widened, though they remained on my face.

"Are you sure?" he whispered. I took a step toward him, answering his question. His eyes didn't darken, but seemed to melt instead as he leaned toward me, preparing to kiss me. Just before our lips touched, I heard it.

A long _screeeeccchhhh_ing sound, followed by an unmistakable _crash_. Panicked, I jumped away from Tobias, reached down and pulled the baby doll back on. I flung open my drawer, grabbed a holey pair of sweats and jumped into them, dashing for the door, not even bothering to look for shoes.

I feared the worst. In my mind, I was speeding toward my mother's car, or Charlie's cruiser. What I saw when I reached the doorway was probably the last thing I had ever expected to see. An all too familiar Volvo was wrapped around a tree, a black BMW parked behind it. Edward stood fuming outside the car with Carlisle and Emmett at each of his sides, holding him in place.

What the hell was going on?

"What the…" I started, digging my heels into the dirt to try and slow my mad dash.

"Where is he?" Edward snarled. He didn't look in my eyes. He stared straight passed me, his eyes darting around, searching frantically.

"Chill, bro," Emmett tried, though his voice was shaky and higher than usual. What was going on? "I'm sure he didn't – " But Edward cut him off.

"You didn't see what I saw!" he barked, pushing Emmett's arm away and jerking away from Carlisle. They both went flying backward, shocking the hell out of me. I had never seen Edward like this – how had he fought them both off? Unthinkingly, I stepped out of his way as he charged passed me.

"What's happening?" I demanded, my eyes darting from Carlisle to Emmett, begging for an explanation. "What's going on? Somebody!"

"The Volturi," Carlisle murmured. "It appears they've resurfaced. They've taken Renesmee and Jacob."

For at least one second, I swore my heart stopped beating.

"How?" My voice was barely audible. "Why?"

"We don't know. Alice can't see them, can't see anything involving them. She didn't see this coming. Aro was behind it, no doubt. He found some way around her sight."

_Crash. _I whipped around. The sound was coming from my house. _Crash. _I gasped as Tobias came flying through the front wall, and landed roughly at our feet. Instinctively, I stood in front of him, my stance protective. I was so focused on protecting him I didn't think to question why Edward had been using him as a wrecking ball.

In a flash, Edward was in front of me.

"Move," he ordered. His voice was low and lethal.

"He didn't do anything." This was about the Volturi. I was scared too – Jacob was my family – but that didn't mean I was going to go around using anyone I wanted as a punching bag. "He's not your problem – the Volturi is."

He laughed, but the sound was dark and frightening. "You're sure?" His eyes were hard, there was no doubt in them. I realized suddenly that I wasn't sure. The Volturi could have sent Tobias for all I knew. He could have been here hunting _us_ that first day in the clearing.

Edward saw my resolve waver and jerked his head to the side, motioning for me to get out of his way. Still, I couldn't move.

"What could he have to do with them?" I asked. My voice was small.

"I don't know," he growled. "But I intend to find out. Every time he so much as hears the word Volturi, the Romanian vampire flashes into his mind. He was talking to him _here_."

I gasped. I turned to face Tobias, hoping he would tell me it wasn't true. Slowly he rose to his feet, his hands held out in front of him. Already feeling betrayed, I glowered at him.

How could I have been so stupid? What had he brought on us?

_What have _you _brought on us? _a tiny voice in the back of my mind asked.

I sucked in a tight breath, ignoring her, and waited for his explanation.

Tobias rose from the ground, eyeing Edward as he did. Though he made no move to make eye contact with me, I stared him down. Edward stalked toward him, slowly, even as he got to his feet, but Tobias raised his right hand - palm open - to silence him.

"So you've been trespassing in my head." He stated it matter-of-factly, his voice flat. There was no irony in his tone, though the words themselves seemed sarcastic. Edward's expression shifted only slightly as he spoke next.

"It isn't like that. Whether or not I wish to hear your thoughts - I do. I didn't think twice about the Romanian until Ness called - then I confront you with the Volturi and piece by piece, more details of that conversation involuntarily flash through your mind."

"And that makes you think I'm responsible for your daughter being taken?" This time there was a sarcastic edge to Tobias' voice.

"You know _something_!" Edward's voice was a snarl. He leaned menacingly toward Tobias, seeming to force his feet into immobility. "And so help me, you will tell me what that something is."

"You're threatening me now?"

What was Tobias' problem?! If he didn't do anything wrong, then why the hell was he antagonizing Edward this way? This was his daughter for heaven's sake. Even if he was being a bit irrational right now, I think we could all agree he was entitled.

Suddenly, Edward allowed his feet to speed forward. I expected him to crash into Tobias again. Instead, Edward flew right passed him, but there was a distinct tearing sound before he sped away. My eyes flashed to Tobias' face. His face was pure horror at first, then undisguised fear before he sped off after Edward. I followed behind him, dying to know, once and for all, what the hell was going on.

"What are you going to do with that?" Edward did not answer Tobias' desperate call. I pushed harder, allowing the tremors to rock through my body, and violently phased without breaking my stride. I sped past Tobias but couldn't quite catch Edward. It was a good thing he would never be the object of a hunt.

Finally, Edward screeched to a halt, having stopped alongside a pile of brush. Before I could think of what he might do next - before Tobias had even caught up - Edward had lit the pile on fire, dangling a mysterious, pale object just above it.

I thought of phasing, but I had nothing to change in to.

_Damn_, I suddenly thought. _I've ruined the negligee._

When Tobias arrived beside me his breath hitched. He eyed Edward carefully; Edward stared back, an obviously false calm coating his face.

"Just tell me," he murmured, his voice quiet, "and I'll give it right back." I looked closer at the object. Jesus Christ. It was a finger - Tobias' finger.

"I don't know if I should..."

"Very well." Edward let it drop.

"Wait!" Edward's hand flashed down and caught the finger a split second before it became nothing more than ashes. "Alright," he breathed, panicked and defeated. "I'll tell you."

The Cullens and both packs were assembled in the Cullen dining room. Additional chairs had been brought in, but the room maintained a very business-like atmosphere. Carlisle was out of his seat, pacing at the head of the table. Bella and Edward sat next to each other, both extremely focused on getting to the bottom of the issue. Each of them had their moments, though, where their eyes would glaze over and it was obvious they were concerned for Renesmee. I imagined the packs looked the exact same way, worrying for Jacob.

"I still don't understand," Tobias murmured, careful not to speak loud enough to distract anyone from their train of thought. After Tobias had explained that the Romanian had merely been propositioning him - trying to rise up against the Volturi - we all assumed the Volturi were doing the same thing; trying to gather forces. They must have realized their authority was shaky at best after their confrontation with the Cullens. I was aware that Alice still kept a watchful eye on all of the witnesses from the fight, and that she had even helped to thwart an attempt or two by the Volturi to start eliminating witnesses. It made sense that they would rally.

"Why the girl?" Tobias continued. "The Romanian made it seem that Bella was your asset. You," - he gestured to Edward - "and Alice would be invaluable, of course, when it came to strategy, but I was led to believe that Bella impacted the odds of the actual fight."

"She did," Carlisle confirmed, nodding vigorously. "She's an extremely powerful shield, unlike anything any of us had ever seen before. Their active powers were useless on her even when she was human. Once we were all immune, they weren't as keen on fighting."

"Then why not take Bella?" Edward was on his feet now, pacing like Carlisle as he spoke. "Why not come after her, eliminate her, and then take us all on? Surely I'd be in no condition to fight if I ever..." he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. I watched his face twist in pain and wondered if he was thinking of Renesmee. Had he already lost someone as precious to him as Bella? I felt a piercing stab in my chest. Had they killed Jake? I'd been listening and listening for him, phasing every few minutes in hopes that he'd be there. Each time the absolute silence I used to find comfort in filled my mind, it hurt just a little bit more than the last.

"In fact," Carlisle jumped in, "why even _take_ Renesmee. Of course you know, Edward, Bella," – he nodded in each of their direction before continuing – "that I want nothing more than for Nessie to be alive and well, even if she is locked away in Volterra somewhere. But why would they kidnap her, or Jacob, for that matter. If they wanted to weaken us, why not just – "

"My shield." Bella spoke softly, almost to herself, but her whispered words seemed to stop the entire room in its tracks. "My shield," she said again, her voice stronger now. "It has holes, remember. Just one. Just her."

"But how would that work for them?" Edward breathed.

"How did I work for us?" Bella countered. "How did I protect all the vampires on our side that day, _and_ the wolves. My power grew. I just had to unlock it."

"It does make sense," Carlisle whispered. "She has your powers - they may work in the opposite way, but it makes sense that with time her powers would evolve. As yours did."

"But why would she help them?" Tobias asked, shocking everyone momentarily by rejoining what had become a family conversation. "They can't force her to take their side in battle. Of course, they can control her whilst she is outnumbered in Volterra, but once reunited with you all, even under the pretense of a fight, they couldn't make her harm her family. They must have thought of this. It doesn't make sense." And suddenly I knew.

"Yes, it does," I whispered.

It made perfect sense. Wasn't that what I had been doing all this time – allowing Tobias on Quileute land before he'd even tasted animal blood. Allowing him to wander our land, eyes black as night; to enter my house without warning; to come and go as he pleased. He could have slipped at any moment and someone I loved could have died – I'd known that. I'd known it all along. I'd known it, and yet in a way it hadn't mattered because as much as I loved every person whose life I'd been risking these past few weeks, undoubtedly, I loved Tobias more. The love I felt for him was so strong, _too _strong. It was stronger than the ties I had to my tribe, to my family, to my mother and father. I didn't doubt for one moment that Renesmee felt the same way about Jacob - even if she didn't realize it yet.

"They have Jacob," I said. "Aro knows what they are to each other. They'll use him to make her fight us." And then another thought hit me. _Each other_. "Oh God, Jake isn't just leverage. He's the alpha."

Edward's horrified eyes locked with mine.

"Guard dogs," he murmured. "That's what Aro saw at the fight. If Jacob ordered it, you would all have no choice. It's only by his choice that the two packs exist. If he wanted, he'd control you all."

"I don't understand. If Aro can get Renesmee to break through Bella's shield, they can kill us all themselves. Why would they need the pack to fight you as well?" I asked.

But Edward shook his head. "Don't you see - if we're dead we're no longer a threat, of course, but how would Aro benefit from that? If we join him, however..." he trailed off, allowing his meaning to hang in the air.

Suddenly, Alice gasped, looking up from the big wooden table and directly at Carlisle.

"We're not joining them. There _is_ a way out of this." Her jaw set. Her face was harsher than I'd ever seen it in all the time I'd known her. "We just need to figure out what the hell it is."


	9. Chapter 9 Appropriation

**Disclaimer: **All publically recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Appropriation**

**Alice POV**

_How is she? _I asked. Edward sat at the dining room table, as unmoving as he had been when I'd entered. I was inquiring after Bella, as he was well aware. In exactly one hour it would be two weeks since she had left their bedroom.

"I'm not sure what she's trying to do," he whispered, clutching his head even tighter in his hands. "She seems to be waiting for something. From…" his voice trailed off.

_Renesmee? _

"Yes."

I couldn't see anything. I had tried, God, how I'd tried, but I couldn't see Volterra at all, let alone anyone inside. While this was partially good, as it at least ensured that either Jacob or Renesmee was still alive, it wasn't helping us to get them back.

Not that there wasn't a way. I knew there was. The trouble was figuring it out. Volterra had only disappeared from my immediate sight, it seemed. Yet the harder I looked for it, I was able to catch glimpses. In one of my glimpses, I'd seen Bella sitting in a garden in Volterra. She appeared to be picnicking with Edward – they were smiling. I had continued to look for it at least every hour since we'd gotten the call. Sometimes it was there, sometimes it wasn't. But it gave me hope. Bella and Edward were alike in so many ways. If Renesmee died, they had no plans of outliving her by long. They had no future that did not include Nessie, so we must have rescued her – we must have.

But _how? _

"Bella thinks Renesmee is the key," Edward said, his voice a hushed whisper. "She's asked me not to disturb her, to let her concentrate. She's convinced that when Aro tells her to try and expand her power to fight us, she will secretly try and expand her power to contact us. Bella has been keeping her shield pulled back just in case."

"Jacob isn't phasing?"

"No. Seth has remained in his wolf form since we got the call. He says Jacob hasn't phased at all since he's been caught." Edward's expression changed a bit, as though he were thinking of something. Then, "Have you had the vision today?"

_No, _I thought, before I could stop myself.

He sighed. "What if…" He hesitated.

"It comes and goes, Edward," I snapped, before he could say it. "It doesn't mean – "

"What if Aro or whomever hadn't decided a plan of action yet…before…but now they have. What if the vision is gone because…" – he sighed – "because the future with Renesmee alive…" he trailed off, just barely fighting off a dry sob.

I wanted to tell him it wasn't possible, but I couldn't lie to Edward. It wasn't like I would have seen it if the Volturi or the guard had killed Renesmee. I couldn't look for her future or Jacob's. Watching for Edward and Bella's future was the closest thing I'd ever had to seeing Renesmee's, and for now, their future had disappeared.

_Ness!_

Bella had only whispered her name, but both Edward and I reacted as if she had screamed it, flashing up the stairs and into the bedroom from which we had both been temporarily banned.

"What happened?" Edward asked. He sounded as desperate as I felt. "Did you hear something? Is she okay?"

I waited for Bella's words. I was so anxious, I wasn't breathing.

"She's more than okay," Bella whispered, and a small smile appeared on her face. "She's going to be alright. We're going to bring her home."

"How?" I asked, relief coating my tone as the vision of Bella and Edward's picnic flashed into my head again. Edward sighed and grinned widely. He had seen it too. The vision was a bit longer this time, the details around them more defined – the vision was solidifying. This was what we had all been waiting for. This was the future we'd been praying would hold its shape.

"She's so much more than what we thought," Bella murmured. Her eyes seemed far away, the way I knew I looked sometimes when I was having a vision.

"What do you mean, love?" Edward asked, stepping closer to Bella. "What is she telling you?"

"I'll explain on the way." I imagined my expression was as blank as Edward's. Bella realized she was being vague and finally clarified, "To Volterra."

"I'll call the airport," I said, wanting to feel useful.

"No. We can't. They'll be waiting. We're going to run, then swim. They can't know we're coming. Edward, call Seth. Tell him to get Sam. Alice, you call the Denali coven. In fact, call everyone. Everyone we know."

"Call them and tell them what?" I swear, sometimes, especially with Bella, I wished I had Edward's power.

"We're not just going to save our baby. Not this time. They never could be trusted, but this time they've gone too far. I'm not leaving Volterra until every single one of them is dead."

_Oh, shit, _Emmett said, turning off the X-box downstairs and making his way to the dining room. Carlisle was no doubt listening and had already started assembling the family there to discuss our new plans. _Bella's fucking scary when she's mad. _

_Aro should have known better, _Jazz said, and I could feel his love for Renesmee projecting off of him from here. _This is gonna be good. _

**Renesmee POV**

It had been two weeks since we had been picked up – I preferred 'picked up', though the more appropriate phrase was 'kidnapped' – in Orlando. After the first few days it had become harder and harder for Jacob to separate the days for himself, so it was my job to count the hours and alert him when a new day had arrived. Today was August 28th. Two days ago, when I'd told Jacob the date, he'd flipped out, thinking we'd missed the wedding. But even without a phone or any supernatural contact, we both knew better than to think it had happened without us.

Apart from the fact that he was holding us here against our will, Aro wasn't an awful host. Felix was our official servant. We were staying in a very large bedroom – the only flaw being that it had no windows – which Felix came into at precisely 0800 hours every morning in order to clean up and make our beds. At 0900 hours, 1500 hours, and 2100 hundred hours, Felix would arrive with our meals. The first day he'd brought only game, before I'd reminded him that as Jacob wasn't being allowed to phase, he'd need to be accommodated with human food. That same day I'd instinctually spit the blood of an elk out all over the cobblestone floor. Felix seemed shocked and asked what was wrong. Feeling comfortable with him for some reason, I confessed that herbivores tasted kind of sour, and while I was very appreciative that he'd hunted for me, I preferred carnivores. When he asked what type, I'd replied honestly again – mountain lions. His brow had furrowed at my answer, and I guessed he was thinking of the distance from Volterra he'd have to travel daily to find that kind of wild life. That afternoon he'd tried to bring me human food along with Jacob, and when I _literally _threw that up, he apologized profusely and assured me that I'd have nothing but carnivores from then on. Since then I'd had a lion a day – I was eating better than I had when I'd been hunting for myself.

Jacob reminded me though, on several occasions, not to start warming up to Felix or anyone else around here just because they fed us well and kept us comfortable. They were only trying to win us over, and it was actually much easier for me to keep things in perspective when I remembered why.

The nearest bathroom was down the hall and around the corner from our bedroom. Jane and Alec had the early shift, standing on either side of the door and escorting the hostage of their respective genders to the washroom. Aurelia and Dorian had the afternoon shift. Myrna and Graham guarded us at night, and I met Elsa and Thaddeus at 0300 hours just once, on a middle-of-the-night bathroom run. The guard was getting huge, and the new vampires Aro had recruited were even scarier than Jane and Alec.

It turned out that Aro _had _considered I might figure out a way to contact my family, and he wanted to make sure I didn't tell them anything they could use. Every morning, shortly after Felix finished his housekeeping, Aro came in to read our minds. He seemed to be worried that the guard might be discussing their powers or his plans outside our door, which, indeed, they were. What he didn't realize was that I was able to implant images in his mind, so that when he thought he was reading my thoughts, he was actually only trespassing on my imagination.

For the first three days, Aro only bothered with me. He had _said _he only needed to read one of our minds, since we were together in here, but I think he was really just reluctant to come into any sort of physical contact with Jacob. After those three days though, Aro had obviously been suspicious, which was my fault – I hadn't come up with anything embarrassing or uncomfortable to make Aro believe he was invading our privacy. I had almost panicked when Aro grabbed Jacob's hand. But then it happened – it was like I felt some kind of barrier breaking, and I'd pushed my thoughts into Aro's head from the other side of the room. It had been more difficult than I'd thought. Aro always held my hand for three or four seconds, and I only had to make up the past couple of hours. Yet Aro had held onto Jacob's hand for what had seemed like several minutes, and I ended up having to invent memories from before I was even born, including some of him and my mom (which was awkward, to say the least). When Aro left the room that day, I'd shown Jacob my thoughts for the first time without touching him.

I'm not sure how I had expected Jacob to react to my finally being able to project my thoughts without touch. Perhaps I hoped he would dash across the room and pull me up into a big bear (or wolf) hug. Instead, he'd sat with his hands folded in his lap and simply said, "Now try hearing mine." Unfortunately, I hadn't been successful that day, or any other day since then.

We engaged in actual, _spoken _conversation when it came time for Felix or Aro to come in and check on us. When we knew we'd be alone for awhile, though, this was the routine. Jacob would sit at one end of the room while I was on the other, and he would indicate that it was time to practice. "Try listening to me," he said today, with a slight edge to his voice. We didn't want the guards to catch on to what we were doing, so we tried to make it seem like part of a conversation. Today he made it sound like an argument.

I'd only been staring at Jacob for a few seconds before the door opened roughly and Jane and Alec entered.

"What were you two talking about just a minute ago?" Jane asked. I hated the way her voice sounded. It was laced with arrogance.

"I didn't say anything," I told her, equally arrogant because my words were the complete truth.

Jane took a few steps toward me and smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. She stared at me expectantly for a few moments before breaking off abruptly and focusing on Alec.

"I thought it was just Bella," she whispered.

My eyes snapped up, but met Jacob's instead of hers.

_Was she trying to hurt me? _I asked. I could tell he heard me by the quick change in his facial expression.

It was times like these that I desperately wished I could hear what he was thinking. I stared at him, probing the space around him, but no thoughts came.

_Ugh, _I thought. _Daddy doesn't have to work this hard to read minds. _

Jacob chuckled.

"What?" Jane snapped, looking back and forth between the two of us, probably worried that we were laughing _at _her. Neither of us reacted. "Master told me about you, you know. Any of us can read your mind, he says. You can't _help_ showing yourthoughts." She stepped toward me, obviously planning to take my hand. I resisted the urge to smirk at how wrong she was, and instead focused on making sure I showed her the same things I'd been showing Aro.

I wasn't at all prepared for what happened when I actually _did _take her hand.

"Ouuuuccchhhh – shit!" Jane wrenched her hand away from mine, looking at me, then back at her hand. Alec stared at me, his eyes widened in horror.

_She used Jane's power against her?_

Alec's voice had sounded loud and clear, but only for me. He hadn't spoken the words – he had thought them.

_What the hell, Ness? What'd you do?_

Jacob.

_I can't wait to exterminate her whole damn family. _

Jane.

"Come sister," Alec whispered, taking Jane by the hand. "Perhaps it would be best if we waited by the door."

_Before she figures out what she can do, _he thought.

"Right," Jane replied, and went with Alec back into the hallway.

Jacob began to scoot toward me, I assumed to take my hands, but I stopped him.

_Wait there, Jake. Think something._

_Like what?_

_Anything._

He grinned.

_Yes! _It was amazing. Even the voice in his head was beautiful when he was excited. _You did it. I knew you could. What the hell happened with Jane?_

_I'm not sure. But Alec thinks I used her power against her._

_Can you _do_ that?_

I thought about that. Could I?

Suddenly it was all coming together. The pieces that hadn't fit before were taking shape in my head. Jane _had _been trying to hurt me before, but she couldn't. But I wasn't a shield – my mother was. And I was hearing thoughts now, _everyone's _thoughts. But that wasn't my power – it was my father's power.

Jane had screamed when she'd touched my hand. But I didn't have the power to inflict pain on people just by looking at them. She did. Though somehow when she'd touched me, I'd –

_Holy shit, Ness, _Jacob thought. His thoughts were so loud now, as he took in mine. _You were right. You _do_ have the opposite of Bella's power – only it wasn't what Carlisle thought. All those powers vampires have that only take place in your mind – Bella blocks those out. But you take them in._

_I take them, _I thought. _I can…steal…powers?_

Suddenly Jacob was hysterical; he was rolling around on the floor, suffering from guffaws. I ran over to him and slapped his leg, trying to get him to stop. We didn't want Jane and Alec coming back in here.

_They're not coming back! _Even the voice in his head was cracking up. _Alec knows what you are. Don't you get it, Ness? You're the most powerful vampire here. _

_I don't know how to control it. Besides, Alec knows. He won't touch me._

_We'll find a way to get his power without you touching him. Just concentrate, Nessie. If you manage to take all the powers in this place, you could kill them all!_

_I don't _want _to! I just want to go home. _

Jacob stopped laughing. He sat up straight, pulling me down into his arms.

_I don't know if Alec plans to tell Aro. But if he does, Aro won't just _let _you leave. And even if we do get away, he'll still come after you, your family, and the pack. He won't stop. You know that._

_I know. _He was right. But I was too small and too weak to have a chance at taking on the guard alone. Besides, the newer members of the guard had powers like Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper's – they affected your body, not your mind. If Mom couldn't block those, that meant I couldn't either; it probably also meant I couldn't steal those powers.

_Oh yeah, I didn't think about that. But I thought that was just Myrna. She can petrify, sure, but if you turn Jane's power on her – _

_Not just her._

Jake looked less hopeful now. _Who else? _

_Graham – he has the shift with Myrna – he can manipulate speech. He can _make _you say things. I don't know if the mental shield blocks that._

_Speech? That's no big deal._

_It could be. He could make me say 'Jake, duck' when I meant 'Jake, run'. He could make you tell me you were okay if you weren't. He could make me tell you to leave me and never come back. _Jake frowned.

_Just him?_

_No. Elsa can levitate. I think I'm safe from Thaddeus – he can control minds, only for a few minutes at a time. But _you're _not safe._

_We need a plan._

_Yeah. Jake?_

_Hmmm?_

_How can my mom hear my thoughts? How can I get past her shield? She heard me when I was just a baby, and she hadn't even learned to pull it back yet._

Jacob smiled. _Knowing you, you probably pulled it back yourself. _

I froze.

_Ness, you okay? Ness, I was joking._

_Maybe you weren't. I'm going to try and send her my thoughts now. I'll tell you when she answers._

_What makes you think she'll – _

_I just know. I'm pretty sure she's waiting for me anyway._

_Freaky, Nessie, _Jacob thought, but didn't argue when I crossed to my side of the room to concentrate.


End file.
